Hawkey Franzén was a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician, born March 29 1946 in Böda parish on the island of Öland. He formed the Red River Band in 1961, which in 1963 was transformed into the Lea Riders Group. After this band disbanded in 1968, Franzén was sentenced to one month in prison for draft dodging. In prison, he met Björn J:Son Lindh, who was convicted for the same offense. Together they wrote the songs for Franzén's first solo album, Visa från Djupvik. Jan Carlsson, Red Mitchell, Kenny Håkansson (2) and Bella Ferlin appear on this album. Franzén and J:Son Lindh also formed Jason's Fleece together with Sam Ellison. After the band disbanded, Franzén has been active as a solo artist. In 1994 he formed BLUEsWEED with Bosse Norgren, Hazze Wasén and Björn Böna Nordstedt. The band existed for just over a year and managed to appear live on TV. Franzén died June 5, 2024 in Ödeshög, Sweden.