When it comes to collaborations, the one between Fats Domino and David Louis Bartholomew was epic. For 10 years, they produced 40 singles that hit the Top 40 R&B charts, with seven at No 1.
Bartholomew wrote or co-wrote “a string of hits, including ‘Ain’t That A Shame’ and ‘I’m Walking,’” Black Past states. “He was one of the most influential promoters of 20th Century New Orleans-style music, particularly during the 1950s and 1960s.”
Born on Dec. 24, 1918, in Edgard, Bartholomew played tuba until he heard Louis Armstrong play. Then he switched to trumpet and took music lessons from Peter Davis, who also taught Armstrong.
Bartholomew played professionally with several bands in New Orleans before he landed his dream gig with the famous Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra in 1942. After touring only six weeks, he got drafted into the Army.
While serving his country, Bartholomew learned how to write music. He returned to New Orleans and started his own band. Describing Bartholomew’s music as groundbreaking, Ponderosa Stomp founder Ira Padnos said, “There was nothing else like it at the time. He put a heavy backbeat behind an old blues tune, and it became rock ’n’ roll.”
According to Black Past, Bartholomew wrote, arranged and produced recordings with several other artists, and influenced Little Richard’s career. He also released his own music: “Dave Bartholomew’s New Orleans Jazz Band” album in 1981 and two more albums in the 1990s.
Bartholomew was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991; the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1998; and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
With his trumpet on display at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, Bartholomew turned 100 before dying in 2019. “Dave Bartholomew,” the museum states, “will be remembered as one of rock ’n’ roll’s greatest producers.”
For more tales from New Orleans history, visit the Back in the Day archives.
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