We Got the Blues: Remembering John Rockwood

John Gibbs Rockwood, the fearless but not immortal leader of legendary Toledo rockabilly outfit The Fabulous Haircuts, (among other bands) was a lot of different things to a lot of different people. 

To his late beloved wife Jennifer, he was husband. To his kids, he was a doting father. To Toledo audiences, he was a bluesman of the tallest order, commanding a room and a stage with a razor-sharp musical edge that left audiences wanting more. Rockwood was also the president of a record label, a rock ‘n’ roll photographer who took stills of Elvis Presley a mere four months before The King died, an author of books, and to hundreds of Toledoans he was a friend and mentor.

But a bluesman never really dies. Their music and their spirit still linger on, inspiring others to pick up an instrument and sing their truth. John Gibbs Rockwood will always be remembered as an authentic and hardworking man who made Toledo and the world a better place. Rest easy, Porkchop. You did good.

John Gibbs Rockwood, the fearless but not immortal leader of legendary Toledo rockabilly outfit The Fabulous Haircuts, (among other bands) was a lot of different things to a lot of different people. 

To his late beloved wife Jennifer, he was husband. To his kids, he was a doting father. To Toledo audiences, he was a bluesman of the tallest order, commanding a room and a stage with a razor-sharp musical edge that left audiences wanting more. Rockwood was also the president of a record label, a rock ‘n’ roll photographer who took stills of Elvis Presley a mere four months before The King died, an author of books, and to hundreds of Toledoans he was a friend and mentor.

But a bluesman never really dies. Their music and their spirit still linger on, inspiring others to pick up an instrument and sing their truth. John Gibbs Rockwood will always be remembered as an authentic and hardworking man who made Toledo and the world a better place. Rest easy, Porkchop. You did good.