Photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins with Dinah Washington
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1954
name: label: Photograph by
content: James A. Joyce, American
label: Subject of
content: Bill Hawkins, American, 1909 - 1975
label: Subject of
content: Dinah Washington, American, 1924 - 1963
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Man or Men
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Woman or Women
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Child or Children
label: Subject of
content: Burkhardt Brewing Company, American, 1933 - 1956
notes: label: Description
content: A black-and-white photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins with Dinah Washington taken from outside the Bill Hawkins’ Record Studio. A small crowd of onlookers are peering inside the DJ booth windows from the sidewalk. The crowd of mostly teenagers and children are depicted on the right side of the photograph. Most of the onlookers are shown in profile or with their backs to the viewer. At the back of the crowd, in the right foreground, is a boy in a white tee shirt, dark trousers, and medium-toned baseball cap with a Schwinn bicycle. There is a crumpled sheet of newspaper laying on the sidewalk in next to his front tire. Standing inside the DJ booth windows is Hawkins and Washington. Hawkins stands on the right and is speaking into a silver tone microphone. He is wearing a white collared shirt, a dark-toned tie, and wears a pair of headphones over his ears with the wires dangling down the front of his shirt. He is holding the tie near the knot with his proper left hand. Washington stands on the left. She is depicted in profile, looking downwards, and smiling. She is wearing a medium-toned coat over a black garment. Displayed just inside the window is a stack of white metal cans, a promotional cutout for Burkhardt’s mug ale sitting on glass containers, stacked bowls and plates, and a white sign in front of the display with text that reads [Inquire Inside About / These FREE GIFTS / Donated By The By The ALDRICH HOWEY CO.]. Inside the booth, behind Hawkins and Washington, are two interior windows and a door, framed in wood paneling, with a fabric ruffle across the top. A clock and several photographs hang on the white wall next to Hawkins. The photograph has a white border and a landscape orientation. The back of the photograph is white and plain with a stamp at the center in a diagonally oriented position and several inscriptions. The black ink stamp reads [JAMES A. JOYCE / PHOTOGRAPHER / TY 1-0748 CLEVELAND, OHIO]. In the top left quadrant is a black ink inscription that reads [Sarah Vaughan[crossed out] Dinah Washington / Bill Hawkins]. In the right quadrant is another black ink inscription that reads [EARLY FIFTIES].
place: label: Place captured
content: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, North and Central America
label: Place printed
content: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Jazz (Music)
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Radio
label: Topic
content: Singers (Musicians)
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of W. Allen Taylor, son of "Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins," The First Black Disc Jockey of Cleveland, Ohio
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2018.91.2.35
objectType: label: Type
content: gelatin silver prints
label: Type
content: portraits
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Unknown – Restrictions Possible
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Sheet): 5 1/16 × 7 in. (12.9 × 17.8 cm)