Dubbed 'The World's Greatest Street Performer', Ted Hawkins led a troubled,
eccentric life, but his sweet, soulful voice and heartfelt renditions of folk,
gospel, pop and R&B songs took him from busking in Los Angeles to tours of
Europe with a string of acclaimed albums to his name.
Born into a poor, dysfunctional family in Mississippi, he spent his childhood in
and out of reform schools and was imprisoned at 19, but his love of Sam Cooke
and Professor Longhair gave him an outlet for his struggles. He drifted to
California during the 1960s folk boom to find stardom but after a...