Harold Franklin "Hawkshaw" Hawkins (December 22, 1921 – March 5, 1963) was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 1960s. He was known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honky tonk. At 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. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was married to country star Jean Shepard. Biography Harold Hawkins was born on December 22, 1921, in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. He gained his nickname as a boy after helping a neighbor track down two missing fishing rods: the neighbor called him "Hawkshaw" after the title character in the comic strip, Hawkshaw the Detective. He traded five trapped rabbits for his first guitar, and performed on WCMI-AM in Ashland, Kentucky. At 16, he won a talent competition and a job on WSAZ-AM in Huntington, where he formed Hawkshaw and Sherlock with Clarence Jack. They moved to WCHS-AM in Charleston, West Virginia in the late 1930s. In 1940, at 19, he married Reva Mason Barbour, a 16-year-old from Huntington. During 1941, Hawkins traveled the United States with a musical revue. He entered the US Army in 1943 during World War II, and served as an engineer stationed near Paris, Texas, where he and friends performed at local clubs. As a staff sergeant, he was stationed in France and fought in the Battle of the Bulge, winning four battle stars during 15 months of combat. He was also stationed in Manila and performed there on the radio. Postwar success After he was discharged, Hawkins became a regular on WWVA Jamboree from 1945 to 1954 in Wheeling, West Virginia. In 1946, he signed a recording contract with King Records in Cincinnati, Ohio. This nearly never happened, as Syd Nathan almost threw his poorly-made demonstration record away without listening to it. However, upon listening Nathan agreed to record four Hawkins sides in West Virginia. His first two recordings with King, "Pan American" and "Dog House Boogie", were top ten country hits. A minor hit, and the song that become his signature tune, was "The Sunny Side of the Mountain." "Slow Poke", recorded in 1951, was another notable King recording. He stayed with the label until