Career
Price attracted national attention in the mid-1970s during his three-year collaboration with blues guitarist Roy Buchanan. The pair toured the US and Canada, playing Carnegie Hall in New York City, 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, D.C. and North Carolina. Sustaining several personnel changes, the band performed until 1990. He then formed The Billy Price Band, which currently consists of Lenny Smith (guitar), Tom Valentine (bass), Dave Dodd (drums), Jimmy Britton (keyboards), Eric Spaulding (tenor saxophone), and Joe Herndon (trumpet). The Billy Price Band won the Pittsburgh City Paper Reader's Poll award as Best Blues Band or Performer in 2021 [3] and 2022. [4]
In April, 2016, Price received a Legends of Pittsburgh Rock 'n Roll Award as a Modern Era Inductee. [5] His 2015 recording with Otis Clay, This Time for Real, received a 2016 Blues Music Award (BMA) in the category of Soul Blues Album. [6] His 2018 album Reckoning was nominated for a BMA in the category of Soul Blues Album. His album, Dog Eat Dog, was also nominated for a BMA in the category of Soul Blues Album in 2020. Price was also nominated as Soul Blues Male Artist in 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025; and for Instrumentalist - Vocals in 2024 and 2025.
In 2022, Price released a 3-CD compilation of recordings from throughout his career titled 50+ Years of Soul on GetHip Recordings. [7]
In 2024, Price released Person of Interest on the Little Village label. [8] The recording was nominated for BMAs in the categories of Album of the Year and Soul Blues Album. [9]
In 2024, Price received a Lifetime Career Award from Bluebird Reviews in the UK. [10]
He worked for many years in corporate communications at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University until August, 2023. He continues to perform regularly in Pittsburgh, the eastern United States, and in Europe.
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