Photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins with Dinah Washington: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

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].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1954
• Photograph by: James A. Joyce, American
• Subject of: Bill Hawkins, American, 1909 - 1975
• Subject of: Dinah Washington, American, 1924 - 1963
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: Unidentified Child or Children
• Subject of: Burkhardt Brewing Company, American, 1933 - 1956
• 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: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Radio
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2018.91.2.35
• 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.