Dave Bartholomew Explained

Dave Bartholomew
Birth Name:Davis Bartholomew
Alias:David Louis Bartholomew
Birth Date:24 December 1918
Birth Place:Edgard, Louisiana, U.S.
Death Place:Metairie, Louisiana, U.S.
Genre:Rhythm and blues, big band, swing, rock and roll, Dixieland
Occupation:Musician, bandleader, composer, arranger
Instrument:Trumpet, tuba
Years Active:1936–2019
Label:De Luxe, Imperial, Broadmoor
Associated Acts:Fats Domino
Module:
Embed:yes
Allegiance: United States
Battles:World War II
Serviceyears:1940–1945

David Louis Bartholomew (December 24, 1918 – June 23, 2019) was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century. Originally a trumpeter, he was active in many musical genres, including rhythm and blues, big band, swing music, rock and roll, New Orleans jazz, and Dixieland. In his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he was cited as a key figure in the transition from jump blues and swing to R&B and as "one of the Crescent City's greatest musicians and a true pioneer in the rock and roll revolution".[1]

Many musicians have recorded Bartholomew's songs, but 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 the Billboard number one pop chart hit "Ain't That a Shame". Bartholomew's other hit songs as a composer include "I Hear You Knocking", "Blue Monday", "I'm Walkin'", "My Ding-a-Ling", and "One Night". He was a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.[2]

Biography

Early life

He was born Davis Bartholomew on December 24, 1918,[3] in Edgard, Louisiana, to Mary and Louis Bartholomew.[4] He learned to play his father's preferred instrument, the tuba,[5] then took up the trumpet, taught to him by Peter Davis, who had also tutored Louis Armstrong. Around 1933, Bartholomew moved with his parents to New Orleans, where he played in local jazz and brass bands, including Papa Celestin's,[3] as well as Fats Pichon's band on a Mississippi riverboat.[1] He took charge of Pichon's band in 1941,[5] and after a stay in Jimmie Lunceford's band joined the US Army during World War II. He developed writing and arranging skills as a member of the 196th Army Ground Forces Band.[2] [5] [6] [7]

Early music career

At the end of the war Bartholomew returned to New Orleans and, by November 1945, had started leading his own dance band, Dave Bartholomew and the Dew Droppers, named after a local hotel and nightclub, the Dew Drop Inn.[8] The band became locally popular, described as "the bedrock of R&B in the city",[7] and, according to the music historian Robert Palmer, was a "model for early rock 'n' roll bands the world over".[1] A local journalist wrote of the band, in June 1946: "Putting it mildly, they make the house 'rock'."[6] In 1947, they were invited by club owner Don Robey to perform in Houston, Texas, where Bartholomew met Lew Chudd, the founder of Imperial Records.[6]

Bartholomew and his band made their first recordings, including "She's Got Great Big Eyes", at Cosimo Matassa's New Orleans studio for De Luxe Records in September 1947.[9] Their first hit was "Country Boy", credited to Dave Bartholomew and His Orchestra, which reached No. 14 in the national Billboard R&B chart in early 1950.[10] Prominent members of the band, besides Bartholomew on trumpet and occasional vocals, were the saxophonists Alvin Tyler, Herb Hardesty, and Clarence Hall, the bass player Frank Fields, the guitarist Ernest McLean, the pianist Salvador Doucette, and the drummer Earl Palmer. They were later joined by the saxophonist Lee Allen.[5]

Imperial Records and Fats Domino

Two years after they had first met in Houston, Lew Chudd asked Bartholomew to become Imperial's A&R man in New Orleans.[6] [11] Bartholomew produced Imperial's first national hits, "3 x 7 = 21", written by him and recorded by the female singer Jewel King, and "The Fat Man", recorded in December 1949 by a young pianist, Fats Domino. "The Fat Man" — based on the drug-themed "Junker's Blues", with lyrics rewritten by Bartholomew and Domino to attract a wider audience[3] [6] — reached No. 2 on the R&B chart and eventually sold over one million copies, kicking off Domino's career.[1]

Both records featured Bartholomew's band, as did a succession of further hits through the 1950s. Bartholomew's "genial, steady-rolling arrangements" contributed to the music's success. Cosimo Matassa said, 'Many times I think Fats' very salvation was Dave being able to be stern enough and rigid enough to insist on things getting done... He was adamant as he could be about the discipline of the players.'

Bartholomew left Imperial after a disagreement with Chudd at the end of 1950, and for two years he recorded for other labels, including Decca, King and Specialty.[1] Among his recordings at King was "My Ding-a-Ling", which Bartholomew wrote and first recorded in January 1952; the song was later recorded by Chuck Berry, who had an international hit with it in 1972, although Berry substantially changed the song's arrangement and verses and claimed credit for writing it.[5] While at Specialty, Bartholomew produced Lloyd Price's recording of "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", which featured Domino (uncredited) on piano. The single reached No. 1 on the R&B chart in mid-1952.[12]

After that success, Bartholomew returned to Imperial to work again on Domino's recordings, co-writing and producing a series of R&B hits for him. Domino's crossover to the pop chart came in 1955 with "Ain't That a Shame" (initially titled "Ain't It A Shame"),[13] on which Bartholomew deliberately sought to make Domino's style more appealing to white record buyers.[1] Further, hits followed through the late 1950s and early 1960s: "I'm in Love Again" and "Blue Monday" (both in 1956), "I'm Walkin'" (1957), "I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday" (1959), "Let the Four Winds Blow" (1961) — all co-written and produced by Bartholomew — and "Blueberry Hill" (1956) and "Walking to New Orleans" (1960), also produced by Bartholomew.[14]

Over the same period, Bartholomew wrote, arranged, and produced recordings by many other Imperial artists, including Smiley Lewis (for whom Bartholomew wrote "I Hear You Knocking" and "One Night", both of which were hits and were later recorded by other musicians), the Spiders, Chris Kenner, Earl King, Tommy Ridgley, Robert Parker, T-Bone Walker, Roy Brown, Frankie Ford, and Shirley and Lee (who recorded for Aladdin Records and for whom Bartholomew produced "Let the Good Times Roll").[7] Several of Bartholomew's songs were later covered by other musicians. "Ain't That A Shame" was recorded successfully by Pat Boone; "I Hear You Knocking" was a hit for Gale Storm in the 1950s and Dave Edmunds in the 1970s; "One Night" and "Witchcraft" were hits for Elvis Presley; and "I'm Walkin'" was a hit for Ricky Nelson.[15] On various of his songs, a co-writing credit was given to his wife, Pearl King (sometimes confused with the musician Earl King).

Later life and death

After Imperial was sold to Liberty Records in Los Angeles in 1963, Bartholomew remained in New Orleans, working for Trumpet Records and Mercury Records and then establishing his own label, Broadmoor Records, in 1967.[1] The label folded the following year, when its distributor, Dover Records, collapsed.[16]

In the 1970s and 1980s, Bartholomew led a traditional Dixieland jazz band in New Orleans, releasing an album, Dave Bartholomew's New Orleans Jazz Band, in 1981. He also took part in Fats Domino's international tours during that period. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer in 1991, and released two further albums in that decade, Dave Bartholomew and the Maryland Jazz Band (1995) and New Orleans Big Beat (1998), while continuing to make occasional appearances with his band at festivals.[1] [7]

Bartholomew married Pearl King in 1942. After her death in 1967[17] he married Rhea (née Douse), with whom he had four sons and one daughter.[3] He remained a resident of New Orleans, and celebrated his 100th birthday on Christmas Eve 2018, but plans for a celebration concert were suspended after he was hospitalized.[18]

Bartholomew died of heart failure at East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie, Louisiana on June 23, 2019, and was buried at St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church in Gentilly.[3] [19] [20]

Chart hits and other notable songs

YearSong[21] Original artist[22] Co-writer(s) with BartholomewU.S. Pop[23] U.S. R&B[24] UK Singles Chart[25] Other charting versions, and notes
1950"3 x 7 = 21"Jewel Kingstyle="text-align:center;"-4style="text-align:center;"-1955: The Spiders, #9 R&B (as "21")
"Country Boy"Dave Bartholomew and His OrchestraFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-14style="text-align:center;"-1960: Fats Domino, #25 US pop, #19 UK
"The Fat Man"Fats DominoFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-2style="text-align:center;"-
1951"Tra-La-La"Dave Bartholomew and His OrchestraTommy Ridgleystyle="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-1951: The Griffin Brothers feat. Tommy Brown, #7 R&B
1952"The Bells Are Ringing"Smiley LewisOverton Lemonsstyle="text-align:center;"-10style="text-align:center;"-
"Poor Poor Me"Fats DominoFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-10style="text-align:center;"-
"My Ding-a-Ling"Dave Bartholomewstyle="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-1972: Chuck Berry, #1 US pop, #42 R&B, #1 UK
1953"Going to the River"Fats DominoFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-2style="text-align:center;"-1953: Chuck Willis, #4 R&B
"Rose Mary"Fats DominoFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-10style="text-align:center;"-
"Something's Wrong"Fats DominoFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-6style="text-align:center;"-
1954"I'm Slippin' In"The Spidersstyle="text-align:center;"-6style="text-align:center;"-
"Blue Monday"Smiley LewisFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-1956: Fats Domino, #5 US pop, #1 R&B, #23 UK
1971: Dave Edmunds, #104 US pop
1989: Bob Seger, #40 rock
1955"I Hear You Knocking"Smiley LewisPearl Kingstyle="text-align:center;"-2style="text-align:center;"-1955: Gale Storm, #2 US pop, #15 R&B<br> 1961: Fats Domino, #67 US pop
1970: Dave Edmunds, #4 US pop, #1 UK
"Don't You Know"Fats DominoFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-7style="text-align:center;"-
"Let the Four Winds Blow"Dave BartholomewFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-1957: Roy Brown, No. 29 US pop, No. 5 R&B<br> 1961: Fats Domino, No. 15 US pop, No. 2 R&B<br> 1962: Sandy Nelson, No. 107 pop
1967: Jerry Jaye, No. 107 US pop
1974: Jack Reno, No. 57 country
"Witchcraft"The SpidersPearl Kingstyle="text-align:center;"-5style="text-align:center;"-1963: Elvis Presley, No. 32 US pop
"Ain't That a Shame"Fats DominoFats Domino101231955: Pat Boone, No. 1 US pop, No. 14 R&B, No. 7 UK
1963: The Four Seasons, No. 22 US pop, No. 38 UK
1972: Hank Williams Jr., No. 7 country
1979: Cheap Trick, No. 35 US pop
"All By Myself"Fats DominoFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-1style="text-align:center;"-
"I Can't Go On"Fats DominoFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-6style="text-align:center;"-
1956"One Night"Smiley LewisPearl King
(later recordings also credit Anita Steinman)
style="text-align:center;"-11style="text-align:center;"-1958: Elvis Presley, No. 4 US pop, No. 10 R&B, No. 1 UK
1972: Jeannie C. Riley, No. 57 country
1975: Mud, No. 32 UK
1976: Roy Head, No. 51 country
2005: Elvis Presley, No. 1 UK (reissue)
"Please Listen to Me"Smiley LewisPearl Kingstyle="text-align:center;"-9style="text-align:center;"-
"Try Rock and Roll"Bobby MitchellPearl King'style="text-align:center;"-14style="text-align:center;"-
"Bo Weevil"Fats DominoFats Domino355style="text-align:center;"-1956: Teresa Brewer, No. 17 US pop
"Don't Blame It on Me"Fats DominoFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-9style="text-align:center;"-
"I'm In Love Again"Fats DominoFats Domino31121956: The Fontane Sisters, No. 38 US pop
1963: Ricky Nelson, No. 67 US pop
"So-Long"Fats DominoFats Domino445style="text-align:center;"-
"Honey Chile"Fats DominoFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-229
1957"I'm Walkin'"Fats DominoFats Domino41191957: Ricky Nelson, No. 4 US pop, No. 10 R&B<br> 1969: Dave Peel, No. 66 country
1977: Doug Kershaw, No. 96 country
"The Rooster Song"Fats DominoFats Dominostyle="text-align:center;"-13style="text-align:center;"-
"Valley of Tears"Fats DominoFats Domino82251961: Buddy Holly, No. 12 UK
"Keeper of My Heart"Faye AdamsPearl Kingstyle="text-align:center;"-13style="text-align:center;"-
"I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday"Bobby MitchellFats Domino, Roy Hayesstyle="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-1959: Fats Domino, No. 17 US pop, No. 22 R&B
"When I See You"Fats DominoFats Domino2914style="text-align:center;"-
"Wait and See"Fats DominoFats Domino237style="text-align:center;"-
"I Still Love You"Fats DominoFats Domino79style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-
"The Big Beat"Fats DominoFats Domino261520
"I Want You To Know"Fats DominoFats Domino32style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-
1958"Yes, My Darling"Fats DominoFats Domino5510style="text-align:center;"-
"No, No"Fats DominoFats Domino55style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-
"Sick and Tired"Fats DominoFats Domino221426
"Little Mary"Fats DominoFats Domino494style="text-align:center;"-
"Young School Girl"Fats DominoFats Domino9215style="text-align:center;"-
"Whole Lotta Loving"Fats DominoFats Domino62style="text-align:center;"-1973: Hank Williams Jr. & Lois Johnson, No. 22 country
1960"If You Need Me"Fats DominoFats Domino98style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-
"Tell Me That You Love Me"Fats DominoFats Domino51style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-
"Before I Grow Too Old"Fats DominoFats Domino84style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-
"Walking to New Orleans"Fats DominoFats Domino, Bobby Charles6219
"My Girl Josephine"Fats DominoFats Domino147321963: Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders, No. 46 UK (as "Hello Josephine")
1967: Jerry Jaye, No. 29 US pop
1984: J. W. Thompson, No. 91 country (as "Hello Josephine")
1995: Super Cat, No. 22 UK
"Natural Born Lover"Fats DominoFats Domino3828style="text-align:center;"-
1961"Shu Rah"Fats DominoFats Domino32style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-
"It Keeps Rainin'"Fats DominoFats Domino, Bobby Charles2318491993: Bitty McLean, No. 2 UK
"What a Party"Fats DominoFats Domino22style="text-align:center;"-43
1962"Ida Jane"Fats DominoFats Domino90style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-
"Nothing New (Same Old Thing)"Fats DominoFats Domino, Pee Wee Maddux, Jack Jessup77style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-
"Dance with Mr. Domino"Fats DominoFats Domino98style="text-align:center;"-style="text-align:center;"-

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/dave-bartholomew Dave Bartholomew biography
  2. Web site: Dave Bartholomew . Songwriters Hall of Fame . September 11, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081119145321/http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C108 . November 19, 2008.
  3. News: Friskics-Warren . Bill . June 23, 2019 . Dave Bartholomew, Mainstay of New Orleans R&B, Dies at 100 . The New York Times . NYTimes.com .
  4. Eagle, Bob L.; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues: A Regional Experience. ABC-CIO. p. 172.
  5. Book: Broven, John . 1988 . Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans . Pelican Publishing . 9780882894331 . August 29, 2015.
  6. Book: Coleman, Rick . 2007 . Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock 'n' Roll . Perseus Books Group . 9780306816338 . August 29, 2015.
  7. Campbell, Al. "Artist Biography". Allmusic.com. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  8. Mike. "This Is It." Louisiana Weekly. November 17, 1945, p. 6.
  9. http://www.duvigneaud.net/dave_bartholomew.html "Dave Bartholomew Discography"
  10. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn . 1996 . Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995 . Record Research . 23.
  11. Book: Komara, E. . 2005 . Encyclopedia of the Blues . Routledge . 9780415926997 . 207 . August 29, 2015.
  12. Book: Whitburn, Joel . 1996 . Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995 . Record Research . 357.
  13. Web site: Rodman . Sarah . Fats Domino, 'Ain't It a Shame' - 500 Greatest Songs of All Time . December 11, 2003 . Rolling Stone . June 24, 2019.
  14. Book: Whitburn, Joel . 1996 . Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995 . Record Research . 119.
  15. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004 . Record Research . 426.
  16. http://45-sleeves.com/USA/broadmoor/broa-us.htm Broadmoor Records
  17. https://secondhandsongs.com/artist/73929 "Songs written by Pearl King", Secondhandsongs.com
  18. https://ultimateclassicrock.com/dave-bartholomew/ Dave Lifton, "Rock Pioneer Dave Bartholomew Turns 100", ultimateclassicrock.com, December 24, 2018
  19. https://www.nola.com/entertainment/2019/06/dave-bartholomew-new-orleans-composer-who-helped-create-rock-n-roll-dies-at-100-report.html John Pope, "Dave Bartholomew, New Orleans composer who helped create rock 'n' roll, dies at 100", NOLA.com, June 23, 2019
  20. Web site: Massa . Dominic . June 23, 2019 . Dave Bartholomew, rock 'n' roll pioneer and trumpeter, dies at age 100 . WWL . June 23, 2019.
  21. https://www.musicvf.com/songs.php?page=artist&artist=Dave+Bartholomew&tab=songaswriterchartstab Songs written by Dave Bartholomew, MusicVF.com
  22. https://secondhandsongs.com/artist/3599/works#nav-entity "Dave Bartholomew", SecondhandSongs
  23. Book: Whitburn, Joel . 2003 . Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 . 1st . Record Research Inc. . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin . 0-89820-155-1 .
  24. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn . 1996 . Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995 . Record Research.
  25. Book: Betts, Graham . 2004 . Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 . 1st . Collins . London . 0-00-717931-6.