Big Road Blues

Show Notes:

Working in his hometown of New Orleans, Dave Bartholomew helped develop and define the sound of rhythm & blues in the Fifties. He was a bandleader, trumpet player, songwriter, producer, arranger, talent scout, businessman, and more. Although he never made the pop charts under his own name, Bartholomew was a key figure in the transition from jump blues and big-band swing to rhythm & blues and rock and roll. Bartholomew is most famous for having discovered and produced Domino, with whom he produced and wrote songs for through the Fifties and beyond. But he’s worked with a who’s-who of New Orleans R&B figures: Smiley Lewis, Lloyd Price, Shirley & Lee, Earl King, Roy Brown, Huey “”Piano”” Smith, Chris Kenner, Robert Parker, Frankie Ford, James Booker, Jewel King, James “”Sugar Boy”” Crawford, Tommy Ridgley and more.

In the late 40s, he formed his own band, which became one of the most popular and accomplished in the city. Between 1947 and the early 60’s Bartholomew recorded prolifically under his own name mostly for Imperial but also for Deluxe, Aladdin, Specialty, King and Jax. His records featured the cream of New Orleans musicians like Earl Palmer, Ernest McClean, Edgar Blanchard, Lee Allen, Alvin “Red” Tyler, Frank Fields and others.

Fats Domino & Dave Bartholomew

In the first hour we spotlight a batch of those terrific, often overlooked, sides Bartholomew cut under his own name. The music swings like crazy, melding blues, R&B, big band and a distinctively New Orleans beat into an irresistible sound. All these sides can be found on three volumes on the Classics label which collect everything from 1947-1955. Hour two features those artists Bartholomew worked with as a trumpeter, producer, arranger and songwriter. All these come from the excellent 2-CD set “The Spirit of New Orleans: The Genius of Dave Bartholomew” which is now out of print.