I’m absolutely gutted to tell you that our pal , great guy, friend,singer and drummer, Teddy passed away unexpectedly this morning from a heart attack.
I started playing with Ted in 2012 in the Nashville Rejects and I always loved him.❤️❤️❤️
He’s going to leave a huge hole in our community…gonna miss him like crazy.
Here’s a little bit of Teddy Hawkins wisdom/wit. I need a little smile…and that’s only right considering how funny he could be. I promised I’d never tell this one until he wasn’t around to give me shit.
In the years before he became a busy, older musician…He was running “El Cheapo movers” which was just a couple of trucks and a van in those days. I was a shipper at an electronics factory in Oakville, and we talked 2-3 times a day.
While he was in My Band “The Wardenaires,” it was always understood that if he ever got “The big break” he’d be free to go after it. He was such a fine musician but he was a little older, and I guess the chances of fate throwing him a bone seemed unlikely.
One day he calls me up and he’s really excited. “Scotty! ….fuck man, you’ll never believe this! Jim Cuddy’s been asking around about me, he wants to get in touch! He’s asked about 3-4 people now! Maybe Glenn’s leaving the band! Jeezus! Do you have any of their records? I said yeah, but it’d be quicker if he just grabbed his own…so of course he did, and for the next few days…everytime he calls me I can hear Blue Rodeo in the background.
He’s learned all their harmonies etc. He ran El-Cheapo off his phone in those days, and had missed a couple of calls from Cuddy. He’s really excited, so I let him go. I’d hate to lose him…but he deserved a break I thought.
A week or so passes, and we’d chased each other around the cellular world, but I hadn’t heard anything further. Finally he calls me one Friday…after a little chit-chat I say “Hey…did Cuddy ever find you?” He says “Oh yeah…sorry, yea he found me…He wanted me to move a couch.” I said “Oh…Ouch! Sorry Hawk!” he laughs and says “Yeah, but it’s funnier this way.”
“True” I replied.” So…that became our Code-phrase for disappointment.
Once he actually swung a date with a girl he had a crush on. Women weren’t his strong suit. The day after the date, I asked him how it went. He laughed out loud and darkly replied “Jim Cuddy’s couch.”
Teddy Hawkins, sweet, salty humour, sexy low rumble singing, he tolerated my thank you kisses on stage, and begging for an extra smoke with grace, shared outside on break before we all got annoyingly healthy and modern!
We shared the funniest stories, when I was lucky to spend time with him, at Lula Lounge usually, for the yearly Patsy Show. Even years prior, he and Scotty Campbell were introduced to me through our manager from Sony, all of us still hopeful for success, singing out guts out wherever we could.
First Big Rude Jake, then Bradley Harder, and now Teddy. My cherished world of old school rabble rousing thought challenging gentlemen musicians seems much dimmer and smaller without them.
I’m so sorry Teddy. And so sorry our last duet was … our last duet. 💔
