Wow. The Hawk is dead. What a legend. RIP.

Farewell to one of the greatest...

RIP.

R.I.P. Ronnie. May your music and memory be a blessing to family, friends and fans.

RIP, sir.

Thank you for the memories and for bringing the Band together, Mr. Hawkins. You are a singular figure and your joy for living was evident. The Hawk abides.

The speakeasys on Yonge Street, the happening hip locations of Yorkville in the 1960s, the sound of Ronnie and the Hawks giving rise to a new found thing in Canada - a rock and roll scene. Everyone around the world will remember him for the Band, and what came after. But in Canada, all rock and roll - maybe all popular music - trace back to him, and what he helped create in and around this city. I'm too young to imagine the world before the Hawk soared these streets, or even to have known what he helped create - it's all but gone now, old stories, fading histories, and places long gone.

The most important thing he did, above anything else, was that he showed Toronto the Good that it didn't have to be good all the time. and because he chose to come here (this country still has a complex about artists going south to get famous) He made it okay for people to stay home and find their voices. And because of that, Canada became a place where it was okay to play rock and roll, rhythm and blues. And after all this time, we're really damn good at it.

So even now, with a thriving hip hop industry and music culture, and a multicultural mosaic dominating the city, on almost any night of the week, I can go to a bar with a band on stage, playing the kind of music Ronnie made. Because at our heart, this is who we are.

RIP, Hawk, and thanks for literally everything.

Jason

R.I.P.