Billy Price

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For the footballer, see Billy Price (footballer).
Billy Price performing in Pittsburgh
Billy Price performing in Pittsburgh

Billy Price is a the stage name of soul singer William Pollak. Born in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, he has lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA since the mid 1970s.[1]

Price attracted national attention in the mid-1970s during his three-year collaboration with blues guitarist Roy Buchanan. The pair toured the U.S. and Canada, playing Carnegie Hall in New York, the Newport Jazz Festival, the Roxy and Troubadour in Los Angeles, and the Spectrum in Philadelphia. After leaving Buchanan, Price formed the Keystone Rhythm Band, which toured the Eastern US on a circuit that stretched from Boston to Atlanta with large followings in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, DC and North Carolina. Sustaining several personnel changes, the band performed until 1990. He then formed The Billy Price Band, which currently consists of Steve Delach (guitar), Paul Thompson (bass), Dave Dodd (drums), Jimmy Britton (keyboards), Joe Herndon (trumpet), Eric DeFade (tenor sax) and Rick Matt (baritone and tenor sax).

Though he works full-time in corporate communications at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, he continues to perform regularly in Pittsburgh, the eastern United States, and occasionally in Europe.

[edit] Discography

2006: "East End Avenue." 14 songs (13 original), including six co-written with Jon Tiven.

2003: "Funky, Funky Soul." DVD of performance at the Belgium Rhythm & Blues Festival.

2002: "Sworn Testimony: The Billy Price Band Live." Double-CD of April 2002 performance at the Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis, MD.

1999: "Can I Change My Mind." Collection of songs written specifically for Price by Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams.

1997: "The Soul Collection." CD containing 16 soul songs including a duet with Otis Clay, "That's How It Is."

1993: "Danger Zone." Price's first album without the Keystone Rhythm Band.

1988: "Free At Last." Album with the Keystone Rhythm Band featuring songs written by Price and other members of the band.

1984: "Live." Recording of Billy Price and the Keystone Rhythm Band live at the Wax Museum in Washington D.C.

1981, 1979: "Is It Over?, They Found Me Guilty."CD of Price's first two albums with the Keystone Rhythm Band.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Thompson, Toby. "Billy Price: East Coast Blue-Eyed Soul Man", copy of article from The Penn Stater at billyprice.com, January / February 2000. Accessed April 23, 2008. ""Forget Billy Price from Pittsburgh's rock cauldron. Meet William Pollak '71, '79, Liberal Arts, from Fair Lawn."