William Hawkins composed the songs on these recordings in the late 1960s. They were first performed by several Ottawa-based bands in which Hawkins was the creative catalyst. He wrote the lyrics for a parcel of songs, including It's a Dirty Shame, which went No.1 when recorded by The Esquires in 1965.

An amateur recording exits of a 1966 live performance of Heavenly Blue at Le Hibou. Despite the poor quality of the recording, most of the tunes, including a bluesy interpretation of C.C. Rider, are electrifying, the energy and passion spellbinding.

Bruce Cockburn's title to his song, King Kong Goes To Tallahassee, is partly a reference to Hawkins, who was a mentor to Bruce in the 1960s when he first started writing songs. Says Cockburn: “Bill wrote a series of poems that featured King Kong going to various places and always getting into trouble, so the title is also something of a tribute to him.”

Murray McLauchlan, in his autobiography, has described Hawkins’ “Gnostic Serenade” as “one of the finest songs ever written.”

Click song title to play MP3

C.C. Rider - played by Heavenly Blue, 1966

Gnostic Serenade - 3's A Crowd - David Wiffen Vocals, 1968

Funny How People Get Old (Taurus) -
Bill Hawkins, vocal & Rhythm Guitar, Victor Nesrallah, Harmonica, Vocals, Guitar. 1997

Louis Riel - William Hawkins, vocal & Rhythm Guitar. 1997