most canadians with successful recording careers in the 1950s had moved to the us, where the population level and media exposure would eclipse that of canada. ronnie hawkins, an arkansas born rockabilly singer, moved to canada in 1958, becoming a prominent figure in canadian blues and rock devoting his life to popularizing canadian musicians. he formed a backing band called the hawks, which produced some of the earliest canadian rock stars. among them were the members of the band, who began touring with bob dylan in 1966, and then struck out on their own in 1968.