Rosa Lee Hawkins

 Rosa Lee Hawkins (October 23,1945-January 11, 2022)

Hawkins was the youngest member of the musical trio the Dixie Cups, whose hit single “Chapel of Love” reached No. 1 on the Billboard 100 in 1964. The other members were her sister Barbara, and Joan Marie Johnson. While in high school in 1963, Barbara brought Rosa along to sing with her and Joan Marie in a high school talent show. The trio initially called themselves the Meltones, only to discover later that the name had already been taken. Since they were from the land of Dixie, and “cups are cute,” Barbara said in an interview, they came up with the name Dixie Cups. The Dixie Cups continued to perform steadily over the decades, with Athelgra Neville, a childhood friend and sister of the Neville Brothers, stepping in as the most recent replacement for Johnson, who left the group in 1966 and died in 2016. The Dixie Cups received two Gold Records, for “Chapel of Love” and another hit, “People Say.” They were inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2007. Rosa Hawkins died from internal bleeding resulting from complications during surgery at Tampa General Hospital. She was 76 years old.