Big Road Blues

West Coast blues doesn’t have the same cachet as say Delta Blues or Chicago Blues but during the 1940’s the blues scene was really heating up on the West Coast (there was no pre-war blues activity in California). With the shipyards and aircraft factories desperate for labor during the war years, blacks flocked to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and small towns like Richmond, Fresno, Stockton and Modesto. One strain of blues that rose to prominence was a moody, after hours brand of piano blues popularized by the inimitable Charles Brown who himself was influenced by Nat King Cole. Brown’s influence was profound, setting the stage for fellow pianists like Amos Milburn, Floyd Dixon, Little Willie Littlefield, Ivory Joe Hunter, Cecil Gant and Roy Hawkins.

In the list of distinguished West Coast piano men Roy Hawkins is unjustly the most obscure and relatively little is know about him. In his heyday he worked extensively in Northern and Southern California, scoring big hits for Modern Records with all time classics “The Thrill Is Gone” and “Why Do things Happen to Me. ” Those who were influenced by Hawkins and covered his songs include B.B. King, James Brown and Ray Charles. Hawkins was out of music by the time of the 1960’s blues boom when artists were being rediscovered left and right and researchers were digging up everything they could about blues performers of all stripes. Despite all this activity Hawkins remained elusive and nobody seems to have talked to him at any length before he passed in 1974.

Like his contemporaries, Hawkins performed a mix of uptempo blues and mellow ballads usually backed by jazzy horns and prominent guitar. Hawkins excelled on doomy, after hours numbers where his smooth, honey soaked voice set the mood for late night drinking and moonlit strolls, the perfect soundtrack for a film noir movie. It wasn’t all doom and gloom as Hawkins and his well tuned band could rock with the best of them. Hawkins was blessed with superb backing on his records including outstanding guitarists like Ulysses James, Chuck Norris, Johnny Moore, T-Bone Walker and Lafayette Thomas. In addition there were great sax men like Lorenzo “Buddy” Floyd, Maxwell Davis and when he lost the use of his arm, high caliber piano from Lloyd Glenn and Willard McDaniel. Add to the mix a batch of first rate songs penned by Hawkins himself and you have all the ingredients for some classic music.

Producer Bob Geddins discovered Hawkins playing in an Oakland, CA nightspot and supervised his first 78s for his Cavatone and Downtown labels in 1948. Modern Records picked up the rights to several Downtown masters before signing Hawkins to a contract in 1949. Unfortunately not all of this material has been reissued but what is available show Hawkins to be a fully seasoned performer by this stage. “It’s Too Late To Change” sets the pattern; it’s a superb moody, fatalistic blues ballad sporting some lazy tenor from William Staples and guitar fills from the outstanding Ulysses James. In the same mold, and even better, is the existential “Strange Land” (”I’m drifting and drifting, trying to find a friend/I go from door to door but they just won’t let me in”) featuring superb musicianship, particularly the interplay between Hawkins’ piano and James’ T-Bone Walker inspired guitar lines. Also notable are the blistering instrumental rockers “Quarter To One” and “West Express.”

By his October 1949 session the records were being officially issued on Modern. It’s sounds as if the session was better rehearsed and certainly better produced. It was a fruitful session yielding more after hours gems like “Sleepless Nights” (I can’t sleep at night/I just roll and tumble all night long/I’ve got had this awful feeling, ever since you’ve been gone”), “Got My Dreams Under My Pillow” opening with some lovely piano and the classic “Why Do Everything Happen To Me.” There was more wailing material including the jazzy instrumentals “Hawk’s Shuffle”, “Royal Hawk”and the shuffling “On My Way” anchored by some catchy riffing horns and some all around incredible ensemble playing. The band on this session is listed as unknown but it’s likely the same one as the earlier sides, and certainly the remarkable fret work bears the hallmarks of James.