Acoustic, electric, and slide guitars: Sam Weber.Acoustic high-tune guitar: James McKenty.Vocals: Ronnie Hawkins, Kris Kristofferson, Gordon Lightfoot, Willie Nelson.“Me and Bobby McGee” – The Hawkstone Manor version Preview: “Me and Bobby McGee” featuring Kris Kristofferson, Ronnie Hawkins, Gordon Lightfoot, and Willie NelsonĪccording to Ryan, Hawkins met up with his friend Kristofferson in Florida earlier this year and played the recordings done with Lightfoot. Now available as a video on iTunes, the “somewhat of a rocking version” of the classic 1969 song - it was the late Janis Joplin’s only #1 single - has Ryan “really excited for people to hear it.” So when the 81-year-old Hawkins called the Webers last year and said there was a chance they could be involved in a recording session with Gordon Lightfoot, 77, their response was “Just let us know when.” That led to the recording of a Christmas song as well as Lightfoot’s 1970 song “The Pony Man”.Īs surreal as that experience was for Ryan and Sam, the best was yet to come - in the form of a subsequent Hawkstone Manor recording of “Me And Bobby McGee” featuring not only Hawkins and Lightfoot but the song’s writer, Kris Kristofferson, 80, and (later in the process) Willie Nelson, 83. “Any time it gets hard or you’ve just spent nine hours in the Suburban, we’re able to remember the times and amazing opportunities we’ve had that other people don’t get. The duo has released an impressive 10 independent CDs over a 15-year period, the latest being 2014’s We, and were the subject of Before We Arrive, the documentary by local filmmakers Rob Viscardis and Jeremy Blair Kelly released earlier this year. “It’s been an amazing journey,” enthuses Ryan who, with Sam, fronts The Weber Brothers band. Sam and Ryan Weber at Hawkstone Manor (photo: Leah Hawk / Facebook) They eventually departed to make their own mark and that they indeed did, while remaining forever appreciative that Hawkins took the time to school them on music, performing, and the ins and outs of a business that is more often cruel than not. Ryan and Sam were eager sponges, soaking in everything the one-of-a-kind rockabilly trailblazer had to offer. There are now a thousand versions of the story but, basically, the teenaged boys rapped on the front door of Ronnie Hawkins’ Stoney Lake home, Hawkstone Manor, and said “Teach us.” That Hawkins did - in exchange for some help with his sprawling property. Music legends Kris Kristofferson and Gordon Lightfoot join The Hawk at his Stoney Lake studioĪs musically gifted as they are in their own right, siblings Ryan and Sam Weber have always been wide-eyed awestruck by the talent of those who came before.Īfter all, it was their respect for, and adulation of, legendary blues and rock ‘n’ roll musicians of decades past that brought the Maryland natives to these parts some 17 years ago.
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