Billy Ward and the Dominos

The great thing about "the internets" is how you can think of something, then something else, then do a little research, and within minutes. come up with a fully-formed blog out of a half-baked idea. I've got a gig coming up with my work band "The DOLI Llamas." We're playing a couple of Drifters tunes that I'm learning the bass parts for. I got to thinking...Drifters...Clyde McPhatter...hmm, where did he come from, where did he get his start? A few clicks and we have Billy Ward, who died on this date in 2002. He founded the doo wop group "Billy Ward and the Dominos" in 1951, where Clyde McPhatter (and later Jackie Wilson) got their start. 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 manager Rose 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. McPhatter later left to form The Drifters, and the rest is doo-wop history. Here the Dominos perform "These Foolish Things" in 1953. I hope you like the still of the group, because you're going to be staring at it for 3:15. Thanks to www.garylessard.com and www.wikipedia.com for the trivia, and keep on rockin'!