Dave Bartholomew
Encyclopedia
Dave Bartholomew is a musician, band leader, composer
and arranger
, prominent in the music of New Orleans
throughout the second half of the 20th century. His band consisted of himself, drummers Terces LaBune and Randy Quinson and guitarists Larry Sands and Samuel Kane.
, big band
, swing music, rock and roll
, New Orleans jazz
and Dixieland
. Although many musicians have recorded Bartholomew's songs, his partnership with Fats Domino
produced some of his greatest successes. In the mid 1950s they wrote more than forty hits
for Imperial Records, including two songs that reached Number One on the Billboard
R&B
chart
"Goin' Home" and "Ain't That a Shame
". He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame
, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
and The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame
.
but the trumpet
later became his main instrument. His professional career began in New Orleans, when he put together a group that included Alvin 'Red' Tyler
, Earl Palmer
and Lee Allen
.
He began recording in 1947 for De Luxe Records
, but the company folded and he received little recognition. In 1949, however, he began working with Lew Chudd's Imperial Records
as an arranger, bandleader and talent scout. He produced hits from Earl King
, Tommy Ridgley
, Robert Parker
, Frankie Ford
, Chris Kenner
, Smiley Lewis
, Shirley & Lee and Fats Domino, among others. He was responsible for the arrangements on the Fats Domino hits in the 1950s including the best seller "Blueberry Hill
". He left Imperial in the mid-1960s and moved between several labels, including his own Broadmoor Records
(named for his neighborhood of New Orleans, Broadmoor
).
Dave Bartholomew was featured as a stellar musician on the Southern Stars poster
created by Dianna Chenevert to help promote him and historically document his contribution to the music industry. An article about the poster appeared on the front page of the Life section in the October 12, 1983 issue of USA Today
, which provided additional nationwide attention.
As of 2009 he is still involved in the music business and releasing recordings of his own. He also plays traditional jazz trumpet at Preservation Hall
, despite his millionaire status.
and big band
swing to rhythm and blues and rock and roll.
Bartholomew and Domino co-wrote many songs that were hits, including "Ain't That a Shame
", "I'm in Love Again" "Blue Monday
" and "I'm Walkin'
".
His "I Hear You Knocking
" was a hit for Gale Storm
in the 1950s, and Dave Edmunds
in the 1970s; "One Night
" and "Witchcraft
" were both hits for Elvis Presley
. Pat Boone
's cover of "Ain't That a Shame," and Rick Nelson's version of "I'm Walkin'" were top twenty hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Chuck Berry
's only #1 Billboard Hot 100
hit was a cover of Bartholomew's "My Ding-a-Ling
", although Berry substantially changed the arrangement and verses.
Bartholomew produced
a series of memorable hits such as "Lawdy Miss Clawdy
" with Lloyd Price
; and "I Hear You Knocking
" and "One Night (Of Sin)" with Smiley Lewis
; plus "Let the Good Times Roll
" with Shirley & Lee.
In 1991 Bartholomew was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
as a non-performer owing to his role in producing early rhythm and blues songs.
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...
and arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
, prominent in the music of New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
throughout the second half of the 20th century. His band consisted of himself, drummers Terces LaBune and Randy Quinson and guitarists Larry Sands and Samuel Kane.
Overview
Bartholomew has been active in many musical genres, including rhythm and bluesRhythm 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...
, big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
, swing music, rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, New Orleans jazz
New Orleans Jazz
New Orleans Jazz may refer to:*Dixieland, a style of jazz music*New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park*Utah Jazz, a professional National Basketball Association franchise that was previously based in New Orleans and known as the New Orleans Jazz, in recognition of the jazz music of New Orleans*A...
and Dixieland
Dixieland
Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
. Although many musicians have recorded Bartholomew's songs, his partnership with Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
produced some of his greatest successes. In the mid 1950s they wrote more than forty hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
for Imperial Records, including two songs that reached Number One on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart
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....
"Goin' Home" and "Ain't That a Shame
Ain't That a Shame
"Ain't That a Shame" is a song recorded by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew, in New Orleans, Louisiana, for Imperial Records and released in 1955. It was previously recorded in 1901 by Silas Leachman. The recording was a hit for Domino, eventually selling a million copies. It reached #1 on the...
". He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
and The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame
Louisiana Music Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame is an IRS certified 501 non-profit organization based in the state capitol of Baton Rouge, La., that seeks to preserve Louisiana's rich music culture and heritage and to further educate its citizens and people worldwide about the state’s unique role contributing...
.
Career
He first learned to play the tubaTuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
but the trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
later became his main instrument. His professional career began in New Orleans, when he put together a group that included Alvin 'Red' Tyler
Alvin Tyler
Alvin "Red" Tyler was an American R&B and neo-bop jazz saxophonist and arranger.Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, Tyler grew up listening to the sound of New Orleans marching bands. He began playing saxophone when in the Navy, and by 1950 had joined Dave Bartholomew’s R&B...
, Earl Palmer
Earl Palmer
Earl Cyril Palmer was an American rock & roll and rhythm and blues drummer, and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....
and Lee Allen
Lee Allen (musician)
Lee Allen was an American tenor saxophone player born in Pittsburg, Kansas.A key figure in the New Orleans rock and roll scene of the 1950s, Allen recorded with many leading performers of the early rock and roll era...
.
He began recording in 1947 for De Luxe Records
De Luxe Records
De Luxe Records was a Linden, New Jersey, United States based record label formed in 1944 by brothers David and Jules Braun. The label flourished in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1947, Syd Nathan, the founder and owner of King Records, purchased a majority interest in De Luxe. In 1949, Nathan moved the...
, but the company folded and he received little recognition. In 1949, however, he began working with Lew Chudd's Imperial Records
Imperial Records
Imperial Records is a United States based label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd and reactivated in 2006 by label owner EMI.- The independent and Liberty Records years :...
as an arranger, bandleader and talent scout. He produced hits from Earl King
Earl King
This article is about the musical artist. For the Earl King convicted of murdering a ship's officer, see Earl King, Ernest Ramsay, and Frank Conner...
, Tommy Ridgley
Tommy Ridgley
Tommy Ridgley was an American R&B singer and bandleader in New Orleans, Louisiana.-Biography:Born Thomas Herman Ridgley, he released his debut single "Shrewsbury Blues" in New Orleans in 1949The success of Shrewsbury Blues lead to Ridgley being billed as the 'Shrewsbury Kid' for a number of years...
, Robert Parker
Robert Parker (R&B singer)
Robert Parker is an American R&B singer and musician, best known for his 1966 hit, "Barefootin'"....
, Frankie Ford
Frankie Ford
Frankie Ford is an American rock and roll and rhythm and blues singer.He is the adopted son of Vincent and Anna Guzzo, who named him Francis Guzzo. He was born in Gretna, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans, where he still lives...
, Chris Kenner
Chris Kenner
Chris Kenner was a New Orleans R&B singer and songwriter, best known for two hit singles in the early 1960s, that became staples in the repertoires of many other musicians.-Biography:...
, Smiley Lewis
Smiley Lewis
Smiley Lewis was an American New Orleans rhythm and blues musician. The journalist, Tony Russell, in his book The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, stated "Lewis was the unluckiest man in New Orleans...
, Shirley & Lee and Fats Domino, among others. He was responsible for the arrangements on the Fats Domino hits in the 1950s including the best seller "Blueberry Hill
Blueberry Hill (song)
"Blueberry Hill" is a popular song published in 1940 best remembered for its 1950s rock n' roll version by Fats Domino. The music was written by Vincent Rose, the lyrics by Al Lewis. It was recorded six times in 1940...
". He left Imperial in the mid-1960s and moved between several labels, including his own Broadmoor Records
Broadmoor Records
Broadmoor Records was a New Orleans, Louisiana based indie record label. Established by Dave Bartholomew, it was named after his neighborhood Broadmoor, New Orleans....
(named for his neighborhood of New Orleans, Broadmoor
Broadmoor, New Orleans
Broadmoor is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Uptown/Carrollton Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Eve Street to the north, Washington Avenue and Toledano Street to the east, South Claiborne Avenue to the south, and Jefferson Avenue,...
).
Dave Bartholomew was featured as a stellar musician on the Southern Stars poster
Southern Stars Poster
The "Southern Stars" poster included famous Louisiana musicians and was created for a booking agency called Omni Attractions which was based in New Orleans from 1982 to 1994...
created by Dianna Chenevert to help promote him and historically document his contribution to the music industry. An article about the poster appeared on the front page of the Life section in the October 12, 1983 issue of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, which provided additional nationwide attention.
As of 2009 he is still involved in the music business and releasing recordings of his own. He also plays traditional jazz trumpet at Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall is a noted jazz performance hall located at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosts nightly concerts featuring a rotating roster of bands. The bands of Preservation Hall typically perform jazz in the New Orleans style.Despite the fame of the...
, despite his millionaire status.
Legacy
Bartholomew helped develop and define the New Orleans sound which was so influential in the 1950s. He was key in the transition from jump bluesJump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
and big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
swing to rhythm and blues and rock and roll.
Bartholomew and Domino co-wrote many songs that were hits, including "Ain't That a Shame
Ain't That a Shame
"Ain't That a Shame" is a song recorded by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew, in New Orleans, Louisiana, for Imperial Records and released in 1955. It was previously recorded in 1901 by Silas Leachman. The recording was a hit for Domino, eventually selling a million copies. It reached #1 on the...
", "I'm in Love Again" "Blue Monday
Blue Monday (Fats Domino song)
"Blue Monday" is a song originally written by Dave Bartholomew, and first recorded by Smiley Lewis in 1954.It was later popularized in a recording by Fats Domino in 1956, on Imperial Records , on which the songwriting credit was shared between Bartholomew and Domino. Most later versions have...
" and "I'm Walkin'
I'm Walkin'
"I'm Walkin" is a 1957 single by Fats Domino. The song was written by Domino and Dave Bartholomew.The single was Fats Domino's third release in a row to reach number one on the R&B Best Sellers chart, where it stayed for six weeks...
".
His "I Hear You Knocking
I Hear You Knocking
"I Hear You Knocking" is a popular rhythm and blues song with emphatic syncopation, written by Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King and published in 1955. The original recording was made by Smiley Lewis, reaching #2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.The lyrics concern a former lover whose knocking at...
" was a hit for Gale Storm
Gale Storm
Gale Storm was an American actress and singer who starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show.-Early life:...
in the 1950s, and Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
in the 1970s; "One Night
One Night (song)
"One Night" is a song popularized by Elvis Presley. It was issued as a double A-side with "I Got Stung". The single reached number one twice on the UK Singles Chart. In the U.S., "One Night", reached number four on the pop singles chart and number ten on the R&B chart...
" and "Witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
" were both hits for Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
. Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
's cover of "Ain't That a Shame," and Rick Nelson's version of "I'm Walkin'" were top twenty hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
's only #1 Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
hit was a cover of Bartholomew's "My Ding-a-Ling
My Ding-a-Ling
"My Ding-a-Ling" was the title of a novelty song recorded by Chuck Berry, and his only U.S. number-one single on the pop charts. Later that year the song, in a longer unedited form, was on the album The London Chuck Berry Sessions...
", although Berry substantially changed the arrangement and verses.
Bartholomew produced
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...
a series of memorable hits such as "Lawdy Miss Clawdy
Lawdy Miss Clawdy
"Lawdy Miss Clawdy" is a song by Lloyd Price. It was first recorded by Price at the New Orleans recording studio of Specialty Records in March 1952. It was released under the Specialty label in April and was number one on the Billboard rhythm and blues chart for seven weeks and stayed on the chart...
" with Lloyd Price
Lloyd Price
Lloyd Price is an American R&B vocalist. Known as "Mr. Personality", after the name of one of his biggest million-selling hits...
; and "I Hear You Knocking
I Hear You Knocking
"I Hear You Knocking" is a popular rhythm and blues song with emphatic syncopation, written by Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King and published in 1955. The original recording was made by Smiley Lewis, reaching #2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.The lyrics concern a former lover whose knocking at...
" and "One Night (Of Sin)" with Smiley Lewis
Smiley Lewis
Smiley Lewis was an American New Orleans rhythm and blues musician. The journalist, Tony Russell, in his book The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, stated "Lewis was the unluckiest man in New Orleans...
; plus "Let the Good Times Roll
Let the Good Times Roll
Let the Good Times Roll may refer to:*"Let the Good Times Roll" *"Let the Good Times Roll" *Let the Good Times Roll , a 1999 album by B.B...
" with Shirley & Lee.
In 1991 Bartholomew was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
as a non-performer owing to his role in producing early rhythm and blues songs.