Harold Franklin "Hawkshaw" Hawkins was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 1960s.
13 Facts About Hawkshaw Hawkins
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Hawkshaw Hawkins was known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honky tonk.
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Hawkshaw Hawkins died in the 1963 plane crash that killed country stars Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas.
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Hawkshaw Hawkins was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was married to country star Jean Shepard.
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Harold Hawkshaw Hawkins was born on December 22,1921, in Huntington, West Virginia, United States.
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Hawkshaw Hawkins gained his nickname as a boy after helping a neighbor track down two missing fishing rods: the neighbor called him "Hawkshaw" after the title character in the comic strip, Hawkshaw the Detective.
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Hawkshaw Hawkins traded five trapped rabbits for his first guitar, and performed on WCMI-AM in Ashland, Kentucky.
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Hawkshaw Hawkins entered the US Army in 1943 during World War II, and served as an engineer stationed near Paris, Texas, where he and friends performed at local clubs.
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Hawkshaw Hawkins was stationed in Manila and performed there on the radio.
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Hawkshaw Hawkins gave Walker his commercial airline ticket and instead flew back in a private plane in Walker's place.
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Fans around the world mourned the loss; Hawkshaw was survived by his daughter Susan Marlene, his young son Donnie, and his wife Jean Shepard, who was pregnant at the time with their second son, Harold Franklin Hawkins Jr.
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Hawkshaw Hawkins was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, in Music Row with Copas and other country music stars.
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Hawkshaw Hawkins is remembered in "Love Never Dies" on Martin Simpson's 2003 album, Righteousness and Humidity.