Harold Franklin "Hawkshaw" Hawkins (December 22, 1921 – March 5, 1963)[1] was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 1960s.

At 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall, Hawkins had an imposing stage presence, and he dressed more conservatively than some other male country singers.

Hawkins died in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas.

At 16, he won a talent competition and a job on WSAZ-AM in Huntington, where he formed Hawkshaw and Sherlock with Clarence Jack.

He entered the U.S. Army in 1943 during World War II, and served as an engineer stationed near Paris, Texas, where he and friends performed at local clubs.

[3] His first two recordings with King, "Pan American" and "Dog House Boogie", were top ten country hits.

Beginning in 1954, Hawkins was a regular performer on ABC Radio and TV's Ozark Jubilee in Springfield, Missouri, where he met his second wife, Jean Shepard.

The location of the airplane crash in the still-remote forest outside Camden is noted by a stone marker, dedicated on July 6, 1996.

In the song, Simpson meets an old truck driver who used to play guitar: "I gave old Hawkshaw a Gibson one time, it was a J-200, man, such a sweet neck!