Jennell Hawkins

LA R&B diva Jennell Hawkins remains to be best remembered on her behalf 1961 pop crossover strike “Occasions to keep in mind.” Delivered in L.A. on Apr 8, 1938, Hawkins started her profession as an associate from the Fidelitones, an organization she co-founded with Jefferson SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL classmates Marc Gordon, Ray Brewster, and Costs Piper. At Jefferson she also fulfilled aspiring songwriter Richard Berry, who in 1954 asked Hawkins to accompany him to a documenting session beneath the auspices of arranger Maxwell Davis. The studio room date led to an impromptu duet efficiency of Berry’s “Each Stage,” issued for the Flair label and acknowledged to Ricky and Jennell. Berry also persuaded Hawkins to become listed on the Dreamers, the Fremont SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL lady group that frequently supported him on classes. She continued to sing business lead around the Dreamers’ 1957 work “Since You’ve Been Eliminated,” later trimming some Combo label produces using the Combonettes aswell. Hawkins didn’t mount an effective solo profession until signing towards the Titanic label in 1961. The Berry-penned “Occasions to keep in mind” (later on reissued as just “Occasions”) eventually reached the R&B Best 20 while climbing to quantity 50 around the Billboard pop graphs. The follow-up, a cover from the Barrett Solid perennial “Cash (That’s What I’D LIKE),” gained Hawkins another R&B Best 20 access, but upon putting your signature on with DJ Rudy Harvey’s Amazon label, her profession foundered. Harvey’s infamously shady business methods also wore greatly on the vocalist, and after issuing “In the Groove” on his Azuza subsidiary she stop the documenting business once and for all. Dedicating herself to family members and trust, Hawkins regularly performed the body organ at chapel funerals, and for quite some time served like a hearse drivers for several Los Angeles-area funeral parlors. Restored desire for L.A.’s postwar R&B tradition finally spurred Hawkins out of pension in the past due ’90s, and in the years to check out, her Jennell Hawkins Sextet was a fixture from the Southern California golf club circuit, often showing up with the great Big Jay McNeely. In 2002, she also reunited using the Dreamers at a LA Doo Wop Culture showcase. After struggling a heart stroke in 2005, Hawkins’ wellness declined. She passed away Oct 13, 2006, the same day time she was planned to get a mayoral certificate of acknowledgement for her efforts to regional music.