Photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins and Earl Bostic: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins with Earl Bostic inside the DJ booth in Bill Hawkins’ Record Studio. Bostic is depicted on the left and Hawkins on the right. The two men are standing behind the DJ console. Bostic is wearing a button-down shirt with a pineapple pattern, medium-toned trousers, suspenders, and dark “browline” style glasses. He is smiling and looking towards in the distance towards the left edge of the photograph. Hawkins is depicted in profile, facing the left edge of the photograph. He is looking slightly downwards, with his proper left hand lightly holding his shirt collar and his proper right hand resting on the console’s turntable. He is speaking into a silver tone microphone directly in front of him. He is wearing a white collared shirt, a polka dot tie, medium-toned trousers, and has a pair of headphones over his ears with the wires dangling down the front of his shirt. Next to the microphone is a pen and piece of paper sitting on the console surface. Behind Hawkins and Bostic is a draped interior window, framed in wood paneling. The photograph has a white border and a portrait orientation. The back of the photograph is white and plain. A black ink photographer’s stamp in a vertical orientation at the center reads [JAMES A. JOYCE / PHOTOGRAPHER / TY 1-0748 CLEVELAND, OHIO]. A small, red ink [+] has been handwritten in the bottom left corner.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1952
• Photograph by: James A. Joyce, American
• Subject of: Bill Hawkins, American, 1909 - 1975
• Subject of: Earl Bostic, American, 1913 - 1965
• 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): 7 × 5 1/16 in. (17.8 × 12.9 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: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Radio
• Topic: Rhythm and blues (Music)
• Object number: 2018.91.2.36
• 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.