Dale Hawkins at the department store - CNN.com

Dale Hawkins at the department store

By Bob Greene, CNN Contributor

February 28, 2010 10:09 a.m. EST

Dale Hawkins is shown in a 1950s promotional photo from Puckett Studios.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Rockabilly star Dale Hawkins, famous for "Suzie Q," died this month
• Greene recalls seeing Hawkins on the singer's trip to Columbus, Ohio, in 1958
• Singers such as Hawkins lived a life of constant travel, thanks to their talent

RELATED TOPICS

• Columbus (Ohio)
• Pop and Rock Music
• Travel and Tourism

Editor's note: CNN Contributor Bob Greene is a bestselling author whose new book is "Late Edition: A Love Story."

(CNN) -- They were always traveling somewhere.

At least that's what we wanted to believe. That was the magic inherent in the lives of the singers whose voices came out of our radios in those Elvis Presley/Chuck Berry/Buddy Holly years. They were everywhere, all at once, while we were stuck in one place.