Ernie Hawkins (born Ernest Leroy Hawkins, 1947,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, Pennsylvania) is an American acoustic blues guitar player, singer, songwriter, recording artist, and educator. Hawkins, along with fellow bluesmen Stefan Grossman and Roy Bookbinder, studied with blues legend

Reverend Gary Davis Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis (born Gary D. Davis, April 30, 1896 – May 5, 1972), was a blues and gospel singer who was also proficient on the banjo, guitar and harmonica. Born in Laurens, South Carolina and blind since infan ...

in New York City in 1965 and 1966. Over the years, he learned a variety of styles, including Piedmont blues, Delta blues,

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...

, and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

. In 1969, Hawkins moved back to his hometown of Pittsburgh, and enrolled at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

, earning a degree in philosophy. In 1973, he moved to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

for graduate school and earned a PhD in phenomenological psychology at the

University of Dallas The University of Dallas is a private Catholic university in Irving, Texas. Established in 1956, it is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The university comprises four academic units: the Braniff Graduate School ...

, though he remained active in music, studying and performing with

Mance Lipscomb Mance Lipscomb (April 9, 1895 – January 30, 1976) was an American blues singer, guitarist and songster. He was born Beau De Glen Lipscomb near Navasota, Texas. As a youth he took the name Mance (short for ''emancipation'') from a friend of hi ...

Robert Pete Williams Robert Pete Williams (March 14, 1914 – December 31, 1980) was an American Louisiana blues musician. His music characteristically employed unconventional structures and guitar tunings, and his songs are often about the time he served in pris ...

Fred McDowell Fred McDowell (January 12, 1904 – July 3, 1972), known by his stage name Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American hill country blues singer and guitar player. Career McDowell was born in Rossville, Tennessee, United States. His parents were f ...

, and Robert "Nyles" Jones. In 1978, Hawkins decided to put aside his psychology career and become a full-time musician. In the mid 1980s, He returned to Pittsburgh, and for the next ten years played lead guitar with the local R&B act Gary Belloma and the Blue Bombers. Over the years, he played with blues musicians

Son House Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902His date of birth is a matter of some debate. House alleged that he was middle-aged during World War I and that he was 79 in 1965, which would make his date of birth around 1886. However, all legal re ...

, Mance Lipscomb, Fred McDowell, Jim Brewer and others, and has been featured in ''

Sing Out! ''Sing Out!'' was a quarterly journal of folk music and folk songs that was published from May 1950 through spring 2014. It was originally based in New York City, with a national circulation of approximately 10,000 by 1960. Background ''Sing Out ...

'', ''Fingerstyle Guitar'', ''

Dirty Linen ''Dirty Linen'' was a bi-monthly magazine of folk and world music based in Baltimore, Maryland. The magazine ceased publication in the spring of 2010. The magazine offered extensive reviews of folk music recordings, videos, books, and concert ...

'', '' Acoustic Guitar'', ''Blues Revue'' and ''

Vintage Guitar A vintage guitar is an older guitar usually sought after and maintained by avid collectors or musicians. The term may indicate either that an instrument is merely old, or that is sought after for its tonal quality, cosmetic appearance, or hist ...

'' magazines. He has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage,

WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour The '' WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour'' is a radio program created, produced, and hosted by folksinger Michael Johnathon. Background WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour is a live audience celebration of grassroots music and the artists who make it. T ...

and

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its se ...

. Hawkins appeared on Maria Muldaur's Grammy and Blues Music Award nominated album ''Richland Woman Blues'' (2001), and was the guitarist for the national support tour. He lives in Pittsburgh, and continues to perform nationally and internationally and to record, teach, and advocate for blues music.

Discography

*''Ragtime Signatures'', 1980 *''Blues Advice'' Orchard, 1996 *''Bluesified'' Say Mo', 2000 *''Mean Little Poodle'' Say Mo', 2002 *''Rags and Bones'' Say Mo', 2005 *''Whinin' Boy'' Corona Records, 2010 *''Monongahela Rye'' Corona Records, 2014

Awards

Independent Music Awards 2012: "Shuffle Rag" – Best Cover Song"11th Annual Independent Music Awards Winners Announced!"
Independent Music Awards, May 2, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2013.

References

External links

Official Website
* allmusic entrybr>Ernie Hawkins
interview and music from the CD Whinin' Boy
Ernie Hawkins -Pittsburgh Music History Profile
1947 births Living people American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers Country blues musicians Fingerstyle guitarists Musicians from Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh alumni University of Dallas alumni Singers from Pennsylvania Guitarists from Pennsylvania 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians {{US-guitarist-stub