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Billy Ward and the Dominoes were one of the top American R&B groups of the 1950s, and launched the careers of both Clyde McPhatter and Jackie Wilson. Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ...
Clyde McPhatter (November 15, 1932 _ June 13, 1972) was an influential American R&B singer, born in Durham, North Carolina. ...
Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Jackie Wilson (June 9, 1934–January 21, 1984) was an American soul and R&B singer born in Detroit, Michigan, where he became active in the music business. ...
Billy Ward (b Robert Williams, 19 September 1921, Los Angeles – d. 16 February 2002, Inglewood, California) grew up in Philadelphia, and was a child musical prodigy, winning an award for a piano composition at the age of 14. Following military service he studied music in Chicago, and at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. While working as a vocal coach and part-time arranger on Broadway, he met talent agent Rose Marks, who became his business and songwriting partner. The Juilliard School is a performing arts conservatory in New York City, informally but definitively identified as simply Juilliard, and most famous for its musically-trained alumni. ...
The pair set out to form a vocal group from the ranks of his students. The group was at first called the Ques, and comprised Clyde McPhatter (lead tenor), Charlie White (tenor), Joe Lamont (baritone), and Bill Brown (bass). Ward acted as their pianist and arranger. After the group made successful appearances on talent shows in the Apollo Theater and on the Arthur Godfrey show in 1950, Rene Hall recommended them to Ralph Bass of Federal Records, a subsidiary of King, where they were signed to a contract and renamed the Dominoes. Their first single release, "Do Something For Me", with McPhatter’s lead vocal, reached the R&B charts in early 1951, climbing to #6. Clyde McPhatter (November 15, 1932 _ June 13, 1972) was an influential American R&B singer, born in Durham, North Carolina. ...
Apollo Theater marquee, c. ...
Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983), born in New York City, New York was an American broadcaster and entertainer. ...
René Hall (b 26 September 1912, Morgan City, Louisiana – d 11 February 1988, Los Angeles) was an American guitarist and music arranger. ...
Federal Records was a sister label to King Records. ...
U.S. King Records logo King Records was a United States based record label, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, started in 1943 by Syd Nathan, specializing in country music, at the time still known as Hillbilly music. King advertised If its a King, Its a Hillbilly -- If its...
After a less successful follow-up, the group released "Sixty Minute Man", on which Bill Brown sang lead, and boasted of being able to satisfy his girls with fifteen minutes each of "kissin'" "teasin'" and "squeezin'", before "blowin'" his "top". It reached #1 on the R&B chart in May 1951 and stayed there for a near-record 14 weeks. It was an important record in several respects – it crossed the boundaries between gospel singing and blues, its lyrics pushed the limits of what was deemed acceptable, and it appealed to many white as well as black listeners, peaking at #17 on the pop charts. In later years, it became a contender for the title of "the first rock and roll record". There are many candidates for the title of the first Rock and Roll record. ...
The group toured widely, building up a reputation as one of the top R&B acts of the era, and an audience which crossed racial divides. However, Ward’s strict disciplinarian approach, and failure to recompense the singers, caused internal problems. The name "The Dominoes" was owned by Ward and Marks, who had the power to hire and fire, and to pay the singers a salary. Clyde McPhatter was being paid barely enough to live on, and often found himself billed as "Clyde Ward" to fool fans into thinking he was Billy Ward's brother. White and Brown both left in 1951/52 to form the Checkers, and were replaced by James Van Loan and David McNeil.
In March 1952, the Dominoes were chosen to be the only vocal group at Alan Freed's "Moondog Coronation Ball". The hits continued, with "Have Mercy Baby" topping the R&B charts for 10 weeks in 1952. However, in early 1953, McPhatter also decided to leave, and soon formed a new group, the Drifters. His replacement in the Dominoes was Jackie Wilson, who had sung with the group on tour. Lamont and McNeil also left and were replaced by Milton Merle and Cliff Givens. With Wilson singing lead, singles such as "You Can't Keep A Good Man Down" continued to be successful. Alan Freed, also known as Moondog (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc-jockey (DJ) who became internationally known for promoting African-American Rhythm and Blues (R&B) music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of Rock and Roll. ...
The Moondog Coronation Ball was a concert held at the Cleveland Arena on March 21, 1952. ...
This article is about the American band. ...
Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Jackie Wilson (June 9, 1934–January 21, 1984) was an American soul and R&B singer born in Detroit, Michigan, where he became active in the music business. ...
In 1954, Ward moved the group to the Jubilee label and then to Decca, where they enjoyed a #27 pop hit with "St. Teresa of the Roses". However, the group were unable to follow that success in the charts, and there were a succession of personnel changes. They increasingly moved away from their R&B roots with appearances in Las Vegas and elsewhere. In late 1956, Wilson left for a solo career. The group then got a new contract with Liberty Records, and had a #13 pop hit with "Star Dust”. This proved to be their last major success, although various line-ups of the group continued recording and performing into the 1960s. Jubilee Records was a record company specializing in rhythm and blues along with novelty records. ...
It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ...
Liberty Records was a United States based record label. ...
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