Roy Hawkins was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

, songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 and blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

. After working in clubs

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

 and recording

Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

 unsuccessful singles

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, he broke through with his song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 "Why Do Everything Happen to Me?," inspired by an auto accident which paralyzed

Paralysis

Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...

 his right arm.

Career

Little is known of Hawkins' early days. Record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 Bob Geddins

Bob Geddins

Robert L. "Bob" Geddins was an American San Francisco Bay Area blues and rhythm and blues musician and record producer....

 discovered Hawkins playing in an Oakland

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 nightspot and supervised his first 78s

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 for Cavatone and Downtown Records

Downtown Records

Downtown Records is a record label owned and operated by Downtown Music LLC. Music on the Downtown label is distributed by Universal Music's Fontana Distribution and, for certain releases, as a joint venture with Atlantic Records and also for select releases, by Alternative Distribution Alliance...

 in 1948. Modern Records

Modern Records

Modern Records was an American record label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. In the 1960s, Modern Records went bankrupt and ceased operations, but the catalogue went with the management into what became Kent Records. This back catalogue was eventually licensed to the UK label...

 picked up the rights to several Downtown masters before signing Hawkins to a recording contract

Recording contract

A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...

 in 1949. Two major R&B

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 hits resulted: 1950's "Why Do Everything Happen to Me" and "The Thrill Is Gone" the following year.

Hawkins recorded for the Bihari brothers

Bihari brothers

The Bihari Brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American music entrepreneurs and the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries such as Meteor Records based in Memphis.-Origins:...

' Modern and RPM Records imprints into 1954. After that, a handful of singles for Rhythm Records and Kent Records

Kent Records

Kent Records was a Los Angeles based record label, launched in the 1960s by the Bihari brothers. It was a follow up to the bankrupted Modern Records and reissued Modern's records. It was later bought by Ace Records, England, which used the label name to release Northern Soul records.The label...

 were all that was heard of the San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...

 pianist. He is rumored to have died in 1973.

He is perhaps best known as the songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 and originator of a number of renowned R&B

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 songs covered

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 by other artists

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

. These include the aforementioned "Why Do Everything..." (James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

), "The Thrill Is Gone

The Thrill Is Gone

"The Thrill Is Gone" is a blues song written by Rick Darnell and Roy Hawkins in 1951 and popularized by B.B. King in 1970.-History:The song was first recorded by Roy Hawkins, its co-author, and became a minor hit for the musician. B.B. King recorded his version of the song in June 1969 for his...

" (B. B. King

B. B. King

Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...

), and "Bad Luck Is Falling" (Ray Charles

Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

). His bad luck was infectious. When King climbed up the charts

Record chart

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

 in 1970 with Hawkins' "The Thrill Is Gone", the tune was mistakenly credited to the wrong composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

s ( Arthur (Art) Benson, Dale Pettite, as seen on the single's label) on early pressings.

Singles

• "They Raided the Joint" (1947)
• "Christmas Blues" (1948)
• "It's Too Late to Change" (1949)
• "Forty Jim" (1949)
• "Quarter to One" (1949)
• "Easy Going Magic" (1949)
• "West Express" (1949)
• "Sleepless Nights" (1949)
• "Why Do Everything Happen to Me?" (1950, R&B: #2)
• "On My Way" (1950)
• "My Temperature Is Rising" (1950)
• "Just a Poor Boy" (1950)
• "Blues All Around Me" (1951)
• "You're the Sweetest Thing" (1951)
• "The Thrill Is Gone
  The Thrill Is Gone
  "The Thrill Is Gone" is a blues song written by Rick Darnell and Roy Hawkins in 1951 and popularized by B.B. King in 1970.-History:The song was first recorded by Roy Hawkins, its co-author, and became a minor hit for the musician. B.B. King recorded his version of the song in June 1969 for his...
  
  " (1951
  1951 in music
  -Events:*January 29 – Nilla Pizzi wins the first annual Sanremo Music Festival with "Grazie dei fiori".*February – The first complete performance of Charles Ives's Second Symphony is given in Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein.*March – Alan...
  
  , R&B: #6)
• "Gloom and Misery All Around" (1951)
• "You're a Free Little Girl" (1952)
• "Highway 59" (1952)
• "The Thrill Hunt" (1952)
• "Bad Luck Is Falling" (1952)
• "If I Had Listened" (1953)
• "I Wonder Why" (1953)
• "Trouble in Mind" (1953)