Erika Goldring/Getty ImagesDave Bartholomew, a New Orleans composer, musician and rock ‘n’ roll pioneer best known for his long collaboration with Fats Domino, died Sunday, June 23, at the age of 100, his son Ron confirmed to The Times-Picayune.
Bartholomew established himself as a songwriter, band leader, talent scout and producer working with various New Orleans musicians before beginning a 14-year partnership with Domino. Starting with “The Fat Man,” which reached #2 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1950, the two co-wrote a series of hits that included “Ain’t That a Shame,” “I’m Walkin’,” “Whole Lotta Loving” and “Walking to New Orleans.”
Bartholomew also wrote several classic Domino songs by himself, including “Blue Monday” and “I Hear You Knockin’.”
Other hit songs Bartholomew wrote or co-wrote include “My Ding-a-ling,” a 1952 tune that Chuck Berry had a #1 hit with in 1972, and “One Night” and “Witchcraft,” which were both hit singles for Elvis Presley.
Bartholomew was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and into the Songwriters Hall of Fame alongside Domino in 1998. Fats passed away at age 89 in 2017.
In a 2010 interview with The Times-Picayune, Bartholomew talked about his partnership with Domino.
“Actually, we never sat down to write anything. He and I just played,” Dave said. “If we started a song and we got lost…I remember one time on ‘I’m in Love Again,’ we went outside and somebody said, ‘Don’t let the dog bite you.’ So we come back and put that in the song.”
A statement issued by the Recording Academy credited Bartholomew’s “innovative approach to his craft” with helping “define the New Orleans sound and establish[ing] the metropolis as one of our nation’s great music cities.”
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