Ronald Monroe Dawson, born August 11, 1939, in Dallas, Texas, was an American rockabilly singer, guitarist, and drummer. The son of western swing bandleader Pinkie Dawson, he learned multiple instruments as a child and won a local talent contest before forming his first band, Ronnie Dee & the D-Men, in 1956. The group performed regularly on the Big D Jamboree radio show. His first record, a cover of "Action Packed" (1958) on the Back Beat label, was followed by "Rockin' Bones" (1959), which was credited under his nickname, "The Blond Bomber." He performed with the Light Crust Doughboys and signed as a solo artist with Swan Records, appearing on American Bandstand. Although his pop singles "Hazel" and "Summer's Comin'" achieved popularity in Pittsburgh, he later disowned them. During the 1960s and 1970s, he worked as a session musician, recorded with the folk group the Levee Singers, and led the country rock band Steel Rail. A mid-1980s rockabilly revival led to his first tour of Britain in 1986, followed by new recordings such as the album More Bad Habits (1990s). He was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1998. He continued to perform after developing throat cancer, from which he died on September 30, 2003, in Dallas.
