Founding Fathers: Dave Bartholomew
Dave Bartholomew Collaborator Fats Domino, 2010 (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
A much-lauded band leader, songwriter and arranger, Dave Bartholomew was a major force behind the early sounds of rock and roll.
Born in Edgard, Louisiana in 1920, Dave Bartholomew started his musical career playing the tuba but, later, chose the trumpet as his major instrument. In 1949, his single, “Country Boy,” sold over 100,000 copies for the De Luxe label before it folded.
That same year, he moved to Lew Chudd’s Imperial Records, where he found his greatest success. Through the 1950s’s, he wrote more than 40 hit songs for the likes of Earl King, Robert Parker and Frankie Ford. His biggest hits, though, were with Fats Domino with whom he collaborated on “Blueberry Hill” (as an arranger), “Goin’ Home” and “Ain’t That A Shame” (on which he was co-writer). Batholomew and Domino also co-wrote “I’m Walkin’” and “Blue Monday.”
As of a few years ago, Bartholomew was still playing, contributing to jazz sessions at Preservation Hall in New Orleans.
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