Roger G Hawkins is an American drummer best known for playing as part of the studio backing band known as The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section of Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

. Hawkins's drumming can be heard on dozens of hit singles, including tracks by Percy Sledge

Percy Sledge

Percy Sledge is an American R&B and soul performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman" in 1966.-Early career:...

 (When a Man Loves a Woman

When a Man Loves a Woman (song)

"When a Man Loves a Woman" is a song recorded by Percy Sledge in 1966 at Norala Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. It made number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts. It was listed 54th in the List of Rolling Stone magazine's 500 greatest songs of all time...

), Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

 ("Respect, "I Never Loved A Man", etc.), Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...

 (Mustang Sally

Mustang Sally (song)

"Mustang Sally" is an R&B/straightforward blues first recorded by Mack Rice in 1965. It gained greater popularity when it was covered by Wilson Pickett on a single the following year. Pickett's version was also included on his 1967 album The Wicked Pickett....

, "Land of 1,000 Dances"), The Staple Singers

The Staple Singers

The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples , the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha , Pervis , Yvonne , and Mavis...

, Johnnie Taylor

Johnnie Taylor

Johnnie Harrison Taylor was an American vocalist in a wide variety of genres, from rhythm and blues, soul, blues and gospel to pop, doo-wop and disco.-Early years:...

, Cat Stevens

Cat Stevens

Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....

, Duane Allman

Duane Allman

Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...

, Joe Cocker

Joe Cocker

John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...

, Paul Simon

Paul Simon

Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...

, Bob Seger

Bob Seger

Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...

, Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart

Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....

, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Traffic

Traffic (band)

Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...

 and Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson

Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...

.

Often in partnership with fellow Muscle Shoals band members Barry Beckett

Barry Beckett

Barry Edward Beckett was a keyboardist who worked as a session musician with several notable artists on their studio albums...

 and David Hood

David Hood

David Hood , is a bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He also plays the trombone and is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame....

, Hawkins is also a noted songwriter and producer. The duo were responsible for the hit entitled "Starting All Over Again" by Mel & Tim, and have also co-produced tracks for Paul Simon, Bob Seger, and Canned Heat, among others.

Top 40 US Hits

Artist	Song title	US charts	highest charting date	Miscellaneous
Percy Sledge Percy Sledge Percy Sledge is an American R&B and soul performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman" in 1966.-Early career:...	When a Man Loves a Woman When a Man Loves a Woman (song) "When a Man Loves a Woman" is a song recorded by Percy Sledge in 1966 at Norala Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. It made number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts. It was listed 54th in the List of Rolling Stone magazine's 500 greatest songs of all time...	#1	April 30, 1966
Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...	Land of a 1.000 Dances	#6	August 13, 1966
James & Bobby Purify James & Bobby Purify James & Bobby Purify were an R&B singing duo, whose biggest hits were "I'm Your Puppet" in 1966, which reached #6 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and in a re-recorded version #12 in the UK Singles Chart , and "Let Love Come Between Us" in 1967, which reached #23 in the U.S.James Lee Purify was...	I'm Your Puppet	#6	October 22, 1966
Wilson Pickett	Mustang Sally Mustang Sally (song) "Mustang Sally" is an R&B/straightforward blues first recorded by Mack Rice in 1965. It gained greater popularity when it was covered by Wilson Pickett on a single the following year. Pickett's version was also included on his 1967 album The Wicked Pickett....	#22	December 10, 1966
Etta James Etta James Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...	Tell Mama Tell Mama Tell Mama is the seventh studio album by American Blues artist, Etta James. The album was released August 21, 1968 on Cadet Records and was produced by Rick Hall. Tell Mama was James's first album since 1963 to enter the Billboard 200 albums chart and contained her first Top 10 and 20 hits since 1964...	# 23	December 30, 1967
Aretha Franklin Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...	I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)	#9	March 18, 1967
Aretha Franklin	Respect Respect (song) "Respect" is a song written and originally released by Stax recording artist Otis Redding in 1965. "Respect" became a 1967 hit and signature song for R&B singer Aretha Franklin. The music in the two versions is significantly different, and through a few minor changes in the lyrics, the stories told...	#1	May 6, 1967
Aretha Franklin	Chain of Fools Chain of Fools Chain of Fools is a 2000 heist comedy/romance film about a hapless barber named Kresk .-Plot:...	#2	December 16, 1967
Aretha Franklin	Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone " Since You've Been Gone" is a classic song by R&B singer Aretha Franklin. Released from her Lady Soul album in 1968, the song was successful, debuting at #32 on the Hot 100, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and spent three weeks at #1 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart...	#5	March 2, 1968
Percy Sledge	Take Time to Know Her	# 11	April 6, 1968
Aretha Franklin	Think	#7	May 25, 1968
Clarence Carter Clarence Carter Clarence Carter is a blind American soul singer and musician.-Life and career:Born in Montgomery, Alabama on 14 January 1936, Carter attended the Alabama School for the Blind in Talladega, Alabama, and Alabama State College in Montgomery, graduating in August 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree...	Slip Away	# 6	August 17, 1968
Wilson Pickett	Hey Jude Hey Jude "Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The ballad evolved from "Hey Jules", a song widely accepted as being written to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian, during his parents' divorce—although this explanation is not...	#23	January 4, 1969	Duane Allman Duane Allman Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band... , guitar
R.B. Greaves	Take a Letter Maria Take A Letter Maria "Take a Letter Maria" is a song written and recorded by R. B. Greaves, an American soul singer. The song has a Latin music flavor, complete with a mariachi-style horn section. It tells of a man who learns of his wife's infidelity the night before and dictates a letter of separation to "Maria", his...	# 2	October 25, 1969
The Staple Singers The Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples , the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha , Pervis , Yvonne , and Mavis...	Heavy Makes You Happy	#27	March 20, 1971
The Staple Singers	Respect Yourself Respect Yourself "Respect Yourself" is the name of a classic soul song by American R&B/gospel group The Staple Singers. Released in late 1971 from their album Be Altitude: Respect Yourself, the song became a crossover hit. It peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and reached #2 on the Hot Soul...	#12	November 13. 1971
Staple Singers	I'll Take You There I'll Take You There "I'll Take You There" is a number-one single written and produced by Al Bell and performed by soul/gospel family band The Staple Singers, released on Stax Records in February 1972...	#1	April 15, 1972
Mel & Tim	Starting All Over Again	# 19	September 16, 1972
Paul Simon Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...	Kodachrome Kodachrome (song) "Kodachrome" is a song written and recorded by Paul Simon. It appeared on his 1973 album There Goes Rhymin' Simon.-Description:The song is named after the Kodak 35mm film Kodachrome...	#2	June 2, 1973
Paul Simon	Loves Me Like a Rock Loves Me Like a Rock "Loves Me Like a Rock" is a 1973 song recorded by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. Simon wrote the song, which appears on his solo album There Goes Rhymin' Simon....	#2	August 18, 1973	vocals by Dixie Hummingbirds
Bob Seger Bob Seger Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...	Mainstreet MainStreet MainStreet was a department store chain based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The chain was launched in November 1983 by Federated Department Stores . Throughout the 1980s, the chain expanded to twenty-nine stores in Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota...	#24	May 4, 1977	Bob Seger System
Bob Seger	We've Got Tonight	#13	November 25, 1978	Silver Bullet Band
Bob Seger	Old Time Rock & Roll	#28	May 5, 1979	Silver Bullet Band

On being a session musician

"Playing with the same guys for so long, well, it's really hard to impress Barry

Barry Beckett

Barry Edward Beckett was a keyboardist who worked as a session musician with several notable artists on their studio albums...

, David

David Hood

David Hood , is a bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He also plays the trombone and is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame....

 or Jimmy

Jimmy Johnson (musician)

Jimmy Johnson is an American a member of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section that was attached to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama for a period in the 1960s and 1970s, and later was the a founder of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio located at first on 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield, Alabama and at...

because they've heard me do it before. And it's the same with them. I mean, if Barry plays a hot lick, I don't congratulate him; he's supposed to do that. I don't know what it is, but when the four of us sit down to play, it's almost like a burden has been lifted from our shoulders. It's like, "Hey, we're home."

External Link and Reference

• Weinberg, Max, foreword by Bruce Springsteen, The Big Beat: Conversations with Rock's Great Drummers, Billboard Books, NY, 1984/1991 pp. 44–59
• Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Revised and Enlarged, Billboard Books, New York, 1992

• "The Muscle Shoals Sound: 3614 Jackson Highway liner notes, Rhino Records Inc., 1993

• The Exciting Wilson Pickett, lines notes, Atlantic Recording Corp,Los Angeles, CA, 1996 & 1993

• Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band: Greatest Hits, Capitol Records, Inc., 1994
• [ Allmusic – Roger Hawkins]
• http://drummerworld.com/drummers/Roger_Hawkins.html