Photograph of Bill “Hawk” Hawkins, Mary Lou Williams, and Paul Breckenridge: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins with Mary Lou Williams and Paul Breckenridge inside the DJ booth in Bill Hawkins’ Record Studio. The photograph, taken from the front window of Bill Hawkins’ Record Studio, depicts Williams and Breckenridge standing on either side of Hawkins, behind a large DJ console with a microphone and a turntable. Hawkins is depicted standing slightly behind Williams, speaking into the silver tone microphone on the console. He is wearing a white collared shirt, medium-toned trousers, and is wearing a pair of headphones over his ears with cords that dangle down the front of his shirt. Williams is depicted in three quarters profile looking towards the right edge of the photograph and also speaking into the microphone. She is wearing a dark dress with a star shaped pin at the vee of the neckline. She has a fur stole with a fox face and paw draped over her shoulders. Breckenridge, standing on the right, is facing Williams. He is wearing a medium-toned, corduroy, button down shirt over a white undershirt and medium-toned trousers. Leaning on the front of the console is a black sign with white text in varying fonts that reads, [See and Hear / Bill HawKins' / Show / 5:45 - 6:45 / Radio Station / WDOK[?] 1260-] with the bottom of the sign obscured by an ice bucket. In the background on the left are two windows and a door set into a wood panel wall inside Hawkin’s recording studio. On the right, leaning against the wall on a desk covered with stacks of records, is a cardboard advertisement for Burkhardt’s Beer. The advertisement depicts a graphic of a footed beer glass with a banner across the front and a small speaker over the foot. The text, printed in varying fonts and sizes over the graphics, reads [WRITE A / “GOLDEN / TIME” / COMMERCIAL / YOUR HOST / Burkhardt’s / Special / BEER / WEWS / SATURDAY 11 PM]. In the top right corner of the advertisement are graphics of musical notes and white text that reads [There’s a Smile / in Every Bubble!]. Printed in the bottom left corner is white text that reads [IT’S EASY! / IT’S FUN! / TAKE A CARD!] with smaller text below. The photograph has a white border and a landscape orientation. The back of the photo is white and plain with a black ink photographer’s stamp at the top center. The black ink stamp reads [JAMES A. JOYCE / PHOTOGRAPHER / TY 1-0748 CLEVELAND, OHIO].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: November 1951
• Photograph by: James A. Joyce, American
• Subject of: Bill Hawkins, American, 1909 - 1975
• Subject of: Mary Lou Williams, American, 1910 - 1981
• Subject of: Paul Breckenridge, American
• Subject of: WDOK 1260, American, 1950 - 2015
• Subject of: Burkhardt Brewing Company, American, 1933 - 1956
• Subject of: WEW, American, founded 1922
• Subject of: Bill Hawkins’ Record Studio, American
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 5 1/16 × 7 in. (12.9 × 17.8 cm)
• Place captured: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, North and Central America
• Place printed: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Radio
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2018.91.2.31
• Credit Line: 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
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.