Ever since Elvis first swiveled his hips, every generation has declared, at some point, that rock ’n’ roll is dead. Ronnie Dawson has spent the past four decades proving it can’t be killed. Since the late 1950s, when he recorded a string of singles as a teenage rockabilly sensation in Dallas, Dawson has slugged it out, night after night, at the fringes of an industry that has never known quite what to make of him. He’s responded by barnstorming the world with a guitar slung low across his hips, playing the twangiest, raunchiest red-meat rock ’n’ roll this side of Link Wray.

:Dawson arrives this coming Wednesday at the Exit/In on a double bill with Wayne Hancock, whose low-fi brand of honky-tonk and Western swing was, for many years, as unfashionable as Dawson’s ferocious rockabilly. In the past two years, both musicians have discovered a large new audience, largely on the strength of live shows and LPs that have been passed among connoisseurs with genuine fervor.

“Wayne was just a guy I met in Austin,” says Dawson, who is as quiet and unassuming in conversation as he is brash and hellacious before a crowd. “He came up to me at a club and said he wanted us to tour together, and we finally got everything worked out. We’re having a great time. He’s got a wonderful steel player, and we all end up onstage together every night.”

It’s especially pleasing that Dawson and Hancock would return to Nashville in triumph. Both men came here years before and left in frustration after butting heads with Music Row—except that where Hancock couldn’t get his foot in the door, Dawson had it slammed on his fingers.

“I just chalk it up to experience,” recalls Dawson of his “not very pleasant” association with Columbia in the late 1960s. In the late 1950s, Dawson had been affiliated with Big D Music, whose roster of artists featured Gene Vincent, Sonny James, and the piano-pounding eccentric Esquerita. However, by the mid-1960s—when Dawson’s voice finally changed—he had been run through the music-industry wringer, including an ill-fated attempt by Dick Clark’s Swan label to turn him into a crooning teen idol. He even cut some startlingly raw R&B sides under the name “Commonwealth Jones” for Columbia in the early part of the decade. (Samplings of all these styles may be found on the fine Crystal Clear Sound compilation Rockin’ Bones: The Legendary Masters, which contains Dawson’s signature songs “Rockin’ Bones” and “Action Packed” along with Chris Dickinson’s affectionate, informative liner notes.)

In the late ’60s, Dawson was brought back to Columbia to record with hitmaking producer Billy Sherrill, who strapped him into the same Procrustean technique that made superstars of George Jones and Charlie Rich. “He recorded me under the same conditions as Tammy Wynette,” Dawson says. The young Texan with the aggressive guitar sound was shoehorned into lush orchestrations and grandiose ballads—and the recordings sank without a trace. From then on, Dawson vowed he would never let anyone else dictate the sound or content of his records, a decision that marginalized his career for much of the next two decades.

“I won’t say I’ll never record a stone country album again,” Dawson says today. “But if I do, I’m not going to let anyone else produce it. Certainly not Billy Sherrill.”

Still, Dawson holds no grudges against Nashville. Wednesday night marks his first local gig since a series of shows with the Planet Rockers a few years back. Dawson’s recent Rockinitis album contains a few tracks cut with the Planet Rockers overseas, and their guitarist, Eddie Angel, now a member of Los Straitjackets, was one of a handful of musicians Dawson handpicked for his raucous new Upstart Records LP Just Rockin’ and Rollin’. The two rockabilly enthusiasts met in London in 1990, and Dawson says it was “probably just destiny for us to meet.” Dawson hopes Angel will show up at the Exit/In Wednesday night if he’s in town.

If Angel does make an appearance, he’ll have to fight to share the spotlight. It’s onstage that Dawson makes most post-grunge rockers look and sound like arthritic codgers. Last spring, at Austin’s Continental Club, the 57-year-old showman kicked off his post-midnight set by duckwalking the length of the club, pausing along the way to slap the standing-room crowd high-fives. When he returned to the stage, he chopped his hand across his strings, and the speakers shook with a buzzsaw roar. Dawson leered at the audience for a moment, then leapt off the monitors and launched into a stuttering tommy-gun solo that ordered Dick Dale to take a hike.

“I just want it to be fun, so you can pat your foot along with it and smile,” Dawson says. “You can’t ever let up, or people’ll know about it.” Amen to that. Ronnie Dawson and Wayne Hancock play Wednesday night at 9 p.m.

The unusual circumstances behind the recording of Emmylou Harris’ Grammy-winning album, Wrecking Ball, will be the focus of a one-hour documentary Tuesday on WDCN-Channel 8. Building the Wrecking Ball features intimate footage shot by director Bob Lanois, brother of Daniel Lanois, who produced the album. The show includes concert footage as well as a few lengthy musical passages, but what makes it worth watching are the behind-the-scenes glimpses into the creation of this collection of songs.

For a country performer such as Harris, choosing to work with Lanois—best known for his work with U2, Bob Dylan, and Peter Gabriel—was a bold step. Indeed, Wrecking Ball is an uncommon country album, rich in atmosphere and texture, with a provocative, dreamlike tension playing foil to Harris’ cool emotionalism. It will stand as one of the highlights of Harris’ storied career and will likely prove influential to many artists and producers in coming years.

The documentary features plenty of verbal and musical interplay between Lanois and Harris as they discuss musical keys, chord changes, and their goals for specific songs. Also appearing are several guest artists: Steve Earle harmonizes on a beautiful version of “Goodbye,” and Kate and Anna McGarrigle work through “Going Back to Harlan” with Harris and the producer. Neil Young arrives to provide background harmony on his own “Wrecking Ball” and on Lucinda Williams’ “Sweet Old World.”

Two of the three other songs featured in the program were written by Nashville-based songwriters: Harris and Lanois discuss the difficulty they had in getting the right vocal tone for David Olney’s “Deeper Well,” while a music video segment shows Harris twirling through gardens and lip-synching from stone bridges on Julie Miller’s “All My Tears.” Present throughout the program is Kingsway Studios, located in an old New Orleans mansion owned by Lanois. The documentary suggests that the record might have sounded much different if it had been created anywhere else.

What started last year as a one-time benefit for handgun control has developed into a yearly tradition. On Sunday night, the 16th anniversary of John Lennon’s murder, a genre-smashing cross-section of Nashville talent will gather at the Ace of Clubs for the second annual Imagine No Handguns event. Proceeds from the $10 admission will go to Handgun Control Inc., the not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization founded by James and Sarah Brady to promote gun-control legislation.

Thus far, the lineup ranges from Jonell Mosser to reggae artist Aashid Himons, from Flecktones bassist Victor Wooten to roadhouse firecracker Phil Lee, and from Swan Dive teamed with Joe, Marc’s Brother to Self’s Matt Mahaffey backed by Fluid Ounces. These artists—along with the Delevantes, Joy Lynn White, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Matthew Ryan, Jay Joyce, Shazam, Kevin Gordon, Tom Mason, Stacey Middleton, Shinola, Lauren Braddock, Doug Hoekstra, Pierce Pettis, Victor Mecyssne, Rebecca Stout, Pat Gallagher, R.B. Morris, the Cheeksters’ Mark Casson, and numerous surprise guests—will take turns singing songs from every period of Lennon’s career. Event organizer John Sieger will lead the house band, which includes Dave Jacques, Steve Allen, and Steve Ebe.

Sieger, a Beatlemaniac roots-rocker from Milwaukee, modeled the benefit on similar events he staged in Wisconsin to promote handgun control. Not only did last year’s benefit raise several hundred dollars, it brought together a wide-ranging audience of local musicians and clubgoers, many of whom shared nothing in common besides the impact Lennon’s music made on their lives.

Throughout his career, John Lennon resisted musical boundaries and challenged the minds, tastes, and principles of even his most committed fans. If Sunday night’s show leads Nashville musicians to follow his example—or encourages them to collaborate or seek new ideas—it’ll benefit the city even more. The doors open at 7:30 p.m.

Another worthwhile benefit show takes place Thursday night at the Exit/In, where Music for the Children will raise funds for supplies and operational needs at the Nashville Child Center. Hosted by Gary Vincent and the Swamp Honkys, the evening features special guests Delbert McClinton, Dave “Mr. Benefit” Pomeroy, Goose Creek Symphony, Jo-El Sonnier, Maura Fogerty, Ned Massey, Terry Radigan, Wayne Carson, Steve Conn, George McCorkle, and Pocketful of Groove. Tickets are $8 or $3 with a college ID; show time is 8 p.m.

Vince Gill, Tori Amos, Joe Satriani, Bob Mould, and Buddy Guy will star in director Ken Russell’s $20 million remake of Flower Drum Song. No, no, they’re actually the judges in Musician magazine’s 1997 Best Unsigned Band Contest, which is currently accepting entries through Dec. 31. The contest is open to unsigned bands and artists of all genres, and all acts will be judged on a two-song cassette of their best material. Winning entries will be featured on the magazine’s Best of the BUBs CD and in the magazine itself. For information, rules, and an entry form, call 1-888-BUB-2WIN.

Elliptical dispatches: Y’all, a Web-zine devoted to all things Southern, is looking for unsigned Southern bands to include on an upcoming compilation CD, which will be given away on the ’zine’s Web site. Bands of all genres are encouraged to send a bio, photograph, and tape or CD for consideration before Dec. 20, 1996. Materials should be sent to Hillary Meister at the Interactive Studio, c/o the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 72 Marietta St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30303. To check out Y’all, try http://www.yall.com....

Claire Lynch, whose 1995 Rounder LP Moonlighter pegged her as one of the rising stars of bluegrass and folk music, plays Dec. 13 at the Station Inn. Lynch first achieved renown as a member of the Front Porch String Band, and she’s contributed backing vocals to records by Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Patty Loveless. Fans of Alison Krauss or Laurie Lewis shouldn’t miss her....

Murfreesboro’s Laughing Storm Dogs, still hanging in after seven years of rowdy gigs at the Boro and other Rutherford County hangouts, play Tuesday night at the Ace of Clubs. Cofounders Lars Hall (on bass) and Robert Means (on trombone and keyboards) continue to mix merry-prankster psychedelia with homegrown roots music and funk. Recent Storm Dogs recordings will be featured this week on KDF’s The Nashville Tapes....