The Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks group was one of the most successful American rock bands from the late 60’s till the middle 70’s. The project was founded at the end of the 60’s by Arkansan Levon Helm, Ronnie Hawkins, Robbie Robertson, Willard Jones, and Scott Cushnie. They began to perform under the name The Band in 1965.
In 1965 the Band signed the music contract with Capitol Records and recorded the full-length album entitled Music From Big Pink, which was released in 1968. In 1966 the group went on the music tour with Bob Dylan. The Band’s next self-titled album appeared in 1969. The record included such singles as "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down" and "Up on Cripple Creek.”
The Band issued the Cahoots LP in 1971, the record was followed by the live full-length entitled Rock of Ages, which was released the next year. In 1974 the Band went on its second concert tour with Bob Dylan. The live album called Before the Flood appeared the same year, it was followed by the 1975’s Northern Lights -- Southern Cross LP.
In the middle 70’s the Band recorded the soundtrack for the Martin Scorsese film called The Last Waltz. Soon after that the group split, but in 1983 the Band was re-formed. In the 90’s Capitol Records released several albums of the group (among them: Across the Great Divide, Anthology, To Kingdom Come, etc). Besides, the Band issued Jericho (1993) and High on the Hog (1996).
