Hawks (2)

Pop rock band from Otho, IA. Prior to the Hawks years, Frank Wiewel and Kirk Kaufman had previously headed popular local band West Minist'r. In the Seventies, they later hired Dave Hearn, Dave Steen, and Larry Adams, who recorded some demos as Junior Wilde. The group was rejected by several record labels for being too ahead of their time, but as the decade went on, Wiewel continued to send demos under the name Nighthawks, and record labels began calling. Eventually, the band name was shortened to just Hawks, and Columbia Records signed the group on the strength of a successful in-studio audition. Their self-titled first album, produced by Tom Werman, was released in March of 1981. Although they scored a minor Billboard Hot 100 hit with "Right Away," which peaked at #63, sales and airplay were largely minimal, and after a follow-up, [I]30 Seconds Over Otho[/I], in June 1982, they were dropped from Columbia while working on a third album, and then disbanded. In 2007, Hawks were inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band name is an acronym for the last names of its members: Hearn, Adams, Wiewel, Kaufman, Steen.