Re: R.i.P. Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins
Originally Posted by
journeybear
I didn't know Ronnie was from Arkansas, like Levon; always thought of him as Canadian.
He and Levon came up here because there was many gigs with steady money to be made in south Ontario as opposed to the American South. I thought that state of affairs was long gone, but on the radio today, I heard Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine show, saying that when he used to live in Ithaca, NY (Cornell student?), he busked with musical friends. They'd travel to Ottawa, because of "toonies" (I wasn't in Ottawa then). People tend not to give paper money to buskers as it might blow away. In the U.S., the biggest coin anyone has is a quarter. In Canada, we can reach into our pocket for a loonie or a toonie, one and two dollar coins respectively. I guess there's still financial incentive for some American musicians to perform regularly here. By the way, one of Ronnie's favourite lines was, I didn't know anything about Canada. Back in Arkansas, I heard that Canada was primitive, but when I got to Burlington (Ontario, where he had a steady gig), I realized that Arkansas was primitive. (I've never been to Arkansas and have no opinion on the matter.)
Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
"I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.
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