quête:billy hawks

As part of Ace 50 BGP has hooked up with our old friends at Concord Music to reissue one of the most important albums in our story. In 1987 as the dance jazz scene morphed into acid jazz Billy Hawks ‘Oh Baby (I Believe I’m Losing You)’ was filling the dance floors where either Gilles Peterson or Baz Fe Jazz were playing.

The Prestige Records album, “Heavy Soul!”, that featured the track, was impossible to find, and frustrated DJs were desperately trying to find a copy. BGP - the Ace label that the two DJs helmed - reissued the album and put the in-demand track onto a 12 inch single. With supply sufficient it became a club smash, crossing over to become a mod classic and one of the most important cuts from our scene.

In the ensuing years the track's status has remained undimmed and the album has never turned up in significant numbers, and yet it has never been reissued since. With an attention to detail that has always been the Ace way, we have carefully mastered the record to be as close as possible to the sound of the original Van Gelder mastering of 1967, and created and accurate representation of the album and label cover art.

Hawks never lived to be rediscovered, but through our musical detective work we tracked down his brother and found out as much of his story as feasible and we also unearthed a couple of pictures. The Virginian born organist with the amazing voice was a fixture on the North-Eastern lounge bar circuit, which was the entertainment backbone off Black American music at the time, and his full story is told on the illustrated inner sleeve that comes with this release

Sophistication is a very apt description of both the music and the performing artist that is Bill Albright (real name Anthony Bills). Born in 1961 and raised in Baltimore, MD. Albright received a vocational as well as an associates degree in Electrical Engineering and Technology during 1981 the same year as he was blessed with the birth of his son Anthony Jr. From 1982 through to 1985 Bill had moved to New York City to model professionally for several major retail corporations such as Macy’s and Bloomingdales making good use of 170 pounds, six feet tall frame and handsome photogenic looks, while still finding time to hone his singing, songwriting and studio engineering skills through attending art Composers Theatre. His musical management and composing skills were to continue upon his return to his native Baltimore in 1986 as the prelude to him joining the national fundraising touring team for The United Negro College Fund in conjunction with the National Basket Ball Association (NBA) Slam Dunk Contests. Interacting with such celebrity players as Magic Johnson, Arsenio Hall, Spike Lee and Robert Townsend and Atlanta Hawks team mates Spud Webb and Dominique Wilkins.



Through his travels during 1989 Albright decided to settle in Atlanta, GA, making it his home to this present day. Once settled he founded his own cleaning business ‘All Bright Cleaning Services Inc’ built on good old-fashioned ethics of hard work and a strong determination to succeed, the exact same traits that he would later display in his future musical journey. While providing his cleaning services to major commercial companies, home, office and car detailing Albright found the time to continue pursuing his musical ambitions with a strong emphasis on live and recorded performances. In 1993 Albright formed ‘Bill Albright Productions Inc’ working with the late Keith “Keecho” Rawls the former Keyboardist and Musical Director for Peabo Bryson. Albright’s work has often been likened to Peabo’s for obvious reasons as well as Luther Vandross and Johnny Gill, He also draws inspiration from the stars of his youth Nat King Cole, The Isley Brothers, Frankie Beverley and Marvin Gaye amongst others. Albrights productions while being contemporary still retain an old school leaning which widens his appeal to a broader audience. Feeling that the time wasn’t right to release his material Albright continued with his successful cleaning business and live performances, that was until 2022 when he released the first of his productions (as a download only) the stylish “Sitting By The Phone” which gives more than a passing nod to Billy Stewart’s timeless classic “Sitting In The Park” but recorded in Albright’s own unique way. Albright’s second and forthcoming release is the more contemporary mid-tempo mover “In The Middle Of The Night” (only available as a download in the United States) but is due for a simultaneous vinyl 45 release in the UK paired with the aforementioned “Sitting By The Phone” as Soul Junction’s next 45 outing.

New pressing, with a front punch of color! It’s the yellow belt edition!
(yellow vinyl)Take an auditory trip through a wacky world of oddball and obscure ‘classick’ exploitation cinema soundtracks from the 1960s and early 1970s, presented by one of the most beloved genre film video companies of all time’ Something Weird! Two LPs chock-full of oddities and earworms with great sets of liners and track by track factoids!