Ted Hawkins an American singer/songwriter, was born in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1936 and died in 1995.
Hawkins was an enigmatic figure through most of his career; he split his time between his adopted hometown of Venice Beach, California where he was a mostly-anonymous street performer, and Europe, where he and his songs were better-known and well-received in clubs and small concert halls.
Born into a poor family in Mississippi, Hawkins lived a difficult early life, ending up at a reform school by age 12, and drifting, hitching, and stealing his way across the country for the next dozen years, earning several stays in prison including a 3-year stint for stealing a leather jacket as a teenager. Along the way, he picked up a love of music and a talent for the guitar. "I was sent to a school for bad boys called Oakley Training School in 1949," from a brief piece of autobiography he wrote. "There I developed my voice by singing with a group that the superintendent's wife had got...
Created by dipity
on Jan 24, 2008
Last updated: 11/17/09 at 07:08 PM
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