William Hawkes (born September 3, 1941),
Retrieved 21 December 2013 known professionally as Billy Hawks (without the 'e'), was an American R&B and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

ist. He was born in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, and grew up singing, playing piano, and listening to the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

. In 1961 he joined Steve Gibson's Red Caps, and the following year joined the Modern Flamingos. Under the guidance of manager Clifford Doubledee, he formed his own group, the Billy Hawks Organ Trio, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1964, with guitarist Maynard Parker and drummer Henry Terrell. The group performed along the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

, notably at

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

. He recorded his first album, ''The New Genius of the Blues'', for

Prestige Records Prestige Records is a jazz record company and label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock in New York City which issued recordings in the mainstream, bop, and cool jazz idioms. The company recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz music ...

in November 1966, with Terrell, and with guitarist

Boogaloo Joe Jones Ivan Joseph Jones (born November 1, 1940), known professionally as Joe Jones or Boogaloo Joe Jones, is an American jazz guitarist. Discography As leader * ''Introducing the Psychedelic Soul Jazz Guitar of Joe Jones'' KA ''The Mindbender''(P ...

replacing Parker. Prestige Records Catalog: 7500 series, ''JazzDisco.org
Retrieved 21 December 2013 The album was produced by

Cal Lampley Cal Lampley (March 4, 1924 – July 6, 2006) was an American composer and record producer. Lampley was born in Dunn, NC. as the second child of Hettie Marina and William Lorenzo Lampley, and had a brother named William Elwood. He graduated with ...

. Released in 1967, it was followed by ''Heavy Soul!'' (sometimes known as ''More Heavy Soul!''), on which he, Parker and Terrell were joined on some tracks by

tenor sax The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

player Buddy Terry. Ralph Berton, ''Liner notes for 'Heavy Soul, Prestige 7556
Retrieved 21 December 2013 The album was recorded at

Rudy Van Gelder Rudolph Van Gelder (November 2, 1924 – August 25, 2016) was an American recording engineer who specialized in jazz. Over more than half a century, he recorded several thousand sessions, with musicians including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Theloni ...

's studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, in December 1967. In 1968, the track "O Baby (I Do Believe I'm Losing You)" was released as a single in France on Stateside (FSS 604) and in 1988 the same track appeared on a BGP Records compilation LP "Dance Juice Vol.2" (BGP 1016) and subsequently, the tune became well-played on the Acid Jazz scene in the UK. Hawks seems not to have recorded subsequently. According to his younger brother Leroy Hawkes, who performs with a blues and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

band the Hipnotics, Billy Hawks is deceased. ''The New Genius Of The Blues'' and ''Heavy Soul!'' were combined and reissued on a single CD by BGP Records in 1998. "O Baby (I Do Believe I'm Losing You)" was sampled by Us3 on their 2002 track "Get Out". "O Baby (I Do Believe I'm Losing You)" at WhoSampled.com
Retrieved 21 December 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawks, Billy 1941 births Year of death missing African-American musicians American jazz organists American male organists Musicians from Richmond, Virginia Jazz musicians from Virginia American male jazz musicians 20th-century African-American people