Roger Hawkins, a drummer who powered the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section on hits by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and the Staple Singers, died Thursday following an extended illness. He was 75 and his death was announced by the Muscle Shoals Music Foundation on Facebook.
As part of the Muscle Shoals Music Section – affectionately known as the Swampers – Hawkins was the backbone of scores of pop, soul, R&b, and rock hits.
The 2013 documentary, Muscle Shoals, spotlighted the talent of the recording team. Hawkins most notable successes included working with Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett, on the massive hits Respect, Think, Chain of Fools, Mustang Sally and Land of 1000 Dances. He also played drums on the Staple Singers’ iconic I’ll Take You There.
Hawkins was born in Indiana and moved to Alabama as a teenager. Hawkins backed local singer Percy Sledge on When a Man Loves a Woman, which quickly...
As part of the Muscle Shoals Music Section – affectionately known as the Swampers – Hawkins was the backbone of scores of pop, soul, R&b, and rock hits.
The 2013 documentary, Muscle Shoals, spotlighted the talent of the recording team. Hawkins most notable successes included working with Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett, on the massive hits Respect, Think, Chain of Fools, Mustang Sally and Land of 1000 Dances. He also played drums on the Staple Singers’ iconic I’ll Take You There.
Hawkins was born in Indiana and moved to Alabama as a teenager. Hawkins backed local singer Percy Sledge on When a Man Loves a Woman, which quickly...
- 5/21/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Roger Hawkins, the drummer in the legendary Swampers and Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section who played on hits like Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally,” and Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman,” has died at the age of 75.
The Muscle Shoals Music Foundation announced Hawkins’ death Thursday. Al.com reports that Hawkins died following an extended illness; the drummer suffered from numerous illnesses later in life, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“Our hearts are breaking today as the heartbeat of ‘The Swampers’ drummer Roger Hawkins...
The Muscle Shoals Music Foundation announced Hawkins’ death Thursday. Al.com reports that Hawkins died following an extended illness; the drummer suffered from numerous illnesses later in life, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“Our hearts are breaking today as the heartbeat of ‘The Swampers’ drummer Roger Hawkins...
- 5/20/2021
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Jimmy Johnson, the guitarist for the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (a.k.a. “the Swampers”) whose foundational R&b-based playing could be heard on hundreds of records, including iconic hits by Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, Wilson Pickett and Lynyrd Skynyrd, died at the age of 76. His death was confirmed by his son Jay Johnson, who did not reveal a cause of death. “He is gone,” his son wrote on Facebook. “Playing music with the angels now.”
“The mighty Jimmy Johnson has passed,” Jason Isbell, who grew up in the Shoals area,...
“The mighty Jimmy Johnson has passed,” Jason Isbell, who grew up in the Shoals area,...
- 9/5/2019
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
Fifty years ago, a handful of milestone albums set the tone for rock of the following decade. Crosby, Stills & Nash initiated a fresh approach to harmonies and looser group names; the eponymous debut by the Allman Brothers Band laid the foundation for the Southern rock of the Seventies. And setting the scene for the white soul-pop that would explode with the likes of Hall and Oates was Boz Scaggs’ self-titled album, which Atlantic Records rolled out on this day in August 1969.
Technically, Boz Scaggs wasn’t a debut; Scaggs had...
Technically, Boz Scaggs wasn’t a debut; Scaggs had...
- 8/27/2019
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
By the early 1970s, Willie Nelson was both an acclaimed songwriter and a frustrated artist. Having recorded for Liberty and then RCA Records, the Texan notched just one Top Ten solo hit with “Touch Me,” in 1962. He wouldn’t have another until 1975, by which time he was recording for Columbia Records, a move that afforded him more creative control over his material and the production of his albums.
But between his seven-year stretch at RCA, and the golden — and platinum — years at Columbia, Nelson was living in Austin and entertaining...
But between his seven-year stretch at RCA, and the golden — and platinum — years at Columbia, Nelson was living in Austin and entertaining...
- 3/6/2019
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
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