Roger G. Hawkins
Roger G. Hawkins (October 16, 1945 – May 20, 2021) was an American drummer best known for playing as part of the studio backing band known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (also known as the Swampers)[1] of Alabama.
Biography[edit]
Hawkins’s drumming can be heard on dozens of hit singles, including tracks by Percy Sledge (“When a Man Loves a Woman“), Aretha Franklin (“Respect“, “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” etc.), Wilson Pickett (“Mustang Sally“, “Land of 1000 Dances“), The Staple Singers, Johnnie Taylor, Cat Stevens, Duane Allman, Joe Cocker, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Boz Scaggs, Albert King, Traffic, and Willie Nelson. He also recorded with Eric Clapton in the early 80’s.
“Playing with the same guys for so long, well, it’s really hard to impress Barry, David or Jimmy because they’ve heard me do it before. And it’s the same with them. I mean, if Barry plays a hot lick, I don’t congratulate him; he’s supposed to do that. I don’t know what it is, but when the four of us sit down to play, it’s almost like a burden has been lifted from our shoulders. It’s like, “Hey, we’re home.”
— Roger Hawkins, [2]
Top 40 US Hits[edit]
| Artist | Song title | US charts | highest charting date | Miscellaneous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percy Sledge | When a Man Loves a Woman | #1 | April 30, 1966 | |
| Wilson Pickett | Land of a 1000 Dances | #6 | August 13, 1966 | |
| James & Bobby Purify | I’m Your Puppet | #6 | October 22, 1966 | |
| Wilson Pickett | Mustang Sally | #22 | December 10, 1966 | |
| Etta James | Tell Mama | #23 | December 30, 1967 | |
| Aretha Franklin | I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) | #9 | March 18, 1967 | |
| Aretha Franklin | Respect | #1 | May 6, 1967 | |
| Aretha Franklin | Chain of Fools | #2 | December 16, 1967 | |
| Aretha Franklin | Since You’ve Been Gone | #5 | March 2, 1968 | |
| Percy Sledge | Take Time to Know Her | #11 | April 6, 1968 | |
| Aretha Franklin[3] | Think | #7 | May 25, 1968 | |
| Clarence Carter | Slip Away | #6 | August 17, 1968 | |
| Wilson Pickett | Hey Jude | #23 | January 4, 1969 | Duane Allman, guitar |
| R.B. Greaves | Take a Letter Maria | #2 | October 25, 1969 | |
| The Staple Singers | Heavy Makes You Happy | #27 | March 20, 1971 | |
| The Staple Singers | Respect Yourself | #12 | November 13, 1971 | |
| The Staple Singers | I’ll Take You There | #1 | April 15, 1972 | |
| Mel & Tim | Starting All Over Again | #19 | September 16, 1972 | |
| Paul Simon | Kodachrome | #2 | June 2, 1973 | |
| Paul Simon | Loves Me Like a Rock | #2 | August 18, 1973 | vocals by the Dixie Hummingbirds |
| Bob Seger | Mainstreet | #24 | May 4, 1977 | Silver Bullet Band |
| Bob Seger | We’ve Got Tonight | #13 | November 25, 1978 | Silver Bullet Band |
| Bob Seger | Old Time Rock & Roll | #28 | May 5, 1979 | Silver Bullet Band |
Collaborations[edit]
With Paul Anka
- Feelings (United Artists Records, 1975)
With Patti Austin
- Body Language (CTI Records, 1980)
- In My Life (CTI Records, 1983)
With Joan Baez
- Honest Lullaby (Portrait Records, 1979)
With William Bell
- Wow… (Stax Records, 1971)
- Phases of Reality (Stax Records, 1972)
With Jimmy Buffett
- Beach House on the Moon (Island Records, 1999)
With Solomon Burke
- Proud Mary (Ola, 1969)
With Dee Dee Bridgewater
- Dee Dee Bridgewater (Atlantic Records, 1976)
With Shirley Brown
- Joy & Pain (Malaco Records, 1993)
With Peabo Bryson
- Peabo (Bullet Records, 1976)
With J. J. Cale
- Really (A&M Records, 1972)
With Kim Carnes
- Sailin’ (A&M Records, 1976)
With Beth Nielsen Chapman
- Hearing It First (Capitol Records, 1980)
With Cher
- 3614 Jackson Highway (Atco Records, 1969)
With Eric Clapton
- Money and Cigarettes (Warner Bros. Records, 1983)
With Joe Cocker
- Luxury You Can Afford (Asylum Records, 1978)
With Ry Cooder
- Boomer’s Story (Reprise Records, 1972)
With Steve Cropper
- Night After Night (MCA Records, 1982)
With Gail Davies
- The Game (Warner Bros. Records, 1980)
With José Feliciano
- Sweet Soul Music (Private Stock Records, 1976)
With Aretha Franklin
- Aretha Arrives (Rhino Records, 1967)
- Lady Soul (Rhino Records, 1968)
- Aretha Now (Atlantic Records, 1968)
- Soul ’69 (Atlantic Records, 1969)
- This Girl’s in Love with You (Atlantic Records, 1970)
- Spirit in the Dark (Atlantic Records, 1970)
- Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky) (Atlantic Records, 1973)
With Glenn Frey
- No Fun Aloud (Asylum Records, 1982)
- The Allnighter (MCA Records, 1984)
- Soul Searchin’ (MCA Records, 1988)
With Art Garfunkel
With Ronnie Hawkins
- Ronnie Hawkins (Cotillion Records, 1970)
With Levon Helm
- Levon Helm (ABC Records, 1978)
- Levon Helm (Capitol Records, 1982)
With Loleatta Holloway
- Loleatta Holloway (Goldon Mind Records, 1979)
- Love Sensation (Goldon Mind Records, 1980)
With Etta James
- Tell Mama (Cadet Records, 1968)
- Seven Year Itch (Island Records, 1988)
- Stickin’ to My Guns (Island Records, 1990)
- The Right Time (Elektra Records, 1992)
With Albert King
- Lovejoy (Stax Records, 1971)
With Julian Lennon
- Valotte (Atlantic Records, 1984)
With Lulu
- New Routes (Atlantic Records, 1970)
With Mary MacGregor
- Torn Between Two Lovers (Ariola Records, 1976)
With Laura Nyro
- Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (Columbia Records, 1970)
With Dan Penn
- Nobody’s Fool (Bell Records, 1973)
- Do Right Man (Sire Records, 1994)
- Blue Nite Lounge (Dandy Records, 2000)
- Something About the Night (Dandy Records, 2016)
With Wilson Pickett
- The Exciting Wilson Pickett (Atlantic Records, 1966)
- The Wicked Pickett (Atlantic Records, 1967)
- The Sound of Wilson Pickett (Atlantic Records, 1967)
- Hey Jude (Atlantic Records, 1969)
- Right On (Atlantic Records, 1970)
- Don’t Knock My Love (Atlantic Records, 1971)
- Funky Situation (Big Tree Records, 1978)
With Eddie Rabbitt
- Loveline (Elektra Records, 1979)
With Helen Reddy
- Take What You Find (Capitol Records, 1980)
With Johnny Rivers
- The Road (Atlantic Records, 1974)
- Borrowed Time (RSO Records, 1980)
With Linda Ronstadt
- Linda Ronstadt (Capitol Records, 1971)
With Leon Russell
- Leon Russell and the Shelter People (Shelter Records, 1971)
With Boz Scaggs
- Boz Scaggs (Atlantic Records, 1969)
- My Time (Columbia Records, 1972)
With Bob Seger
- Smokin’ O.P.’s (Reprise Records, 1972)
- Back in ’72 (Reprise Records, 1973)
- Beautiful Loser (Capitol Records, 1975)
- Night Moves (Capitol Records, 1976)
- Stranger in Town (Capitol Records, 1978)
- Against the Wind (Capitol Records, 1980)
- The Distance (Capitol Records, 1982)
With Paul Simon
- There Goes Rhymin’ Simon (Columbia Records, 1973)
- Still Crazy After All These Years (Columbia Records, 1975)
With Mavis Staples
- Mavis Staples (Volt Records, 1969)
- Only for the Lonely (Volt Records, 1970)
- Oh What a Feeling (Warner Bros. Records, 1979)
With Candi Staton
- Candi (Warner Bros. Records, 1974)
With Cat Stevens
- Izitso (A&M Records, 1977)
With Rod Stewart
- Atlantic Crossing (Warner Bros. Records, 1975)
- A Night on the Town (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)
With Wendy Waldman
- Gypsy Symphony (Warner Bros. Records, 1974)
With Tony Joe White
- The Train I’m On (Warner Brothers, 1972)
- Closer to the Truth (Festival Records, 1991)
Notes[edit]
- Weinberg, Max (2004). The Big Beat: Conversations with Rock’s Greatest Drummers. Hudson Music. pp. 44–59. ISBN 978-0634082757.
- Whitburn, Joel (1992). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0823082803.
- Muscle Shoals Sound (liner notes). Various Artists. Rhino Records. 1993. R2-71517.
- The Exciting Wilson Pickett (liner notes). Wilson Pickett. Atlantic Records. 2002.
- Greatest Hits (liner notes). Bob Seger. Capitol Records. 1994.
References[edit]
- ^ “Roger Hawkins: The Pulse of Muscle Shoals | Modern Drummer Magazine”. www.moderndrummer.com. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
- ^ Weinberg, Max (2004). The Big Beat: Conversations with Rock’s Greatest Drummers. Hudson Music. p. 58. ISBN 978-0634082757.
- ^ Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings (box set liner notes). Aretha Franklin. Atlantic Records. 1992.
External links[edit]
- Roger Hawkins discography at Discogs
- Roger Hawkins biography at DrummerWorld.com
- Roger Hawkins at AllMusic
- Roger Hawkins at IMDb
