Rock and Roll; Interview with Dave Bartholomew [Part 1 of 2]

I'm repping Waller was out on Dow was in failure. I just called Uptown and new all we've got is what is known as uptown downtown from town back in town on the north east south and west right now. When I got on the wall and. I grew up in uptown New wrongs. I was down on my father was a borrower. And the musician used to come around and jam. On weekends. What they were doing actually pushed all the. Chairs on the side. And when they do get together and have a jam session. We live in the back of the house so quite natural I grew up with the music and the time the parade band was very very active. I remember. The great mystery where they had a friend. Who was actually a man of two years on at the present time a mastermind I'm working with them down at Preservation Hall at the present time and he always excited me because he was such a great musician. He looked the part

was always a gentleman. I think that was called a tuxedo brass band the band just to come around. France in those days was no radio. What they used to do is actually advertise on the back of a truck and open truck and I used to follow the trucks all around and maybe 10 or 15 blocks around the city. 5 I can walk walk back to the house. So that's where that is actually when I was introduced to the music business. I would phone with. You and Mr Peter Davis the late Mr Peter Davis Yes he was instrumental in teaching me to because when I slap and use to get his hair cut at my father barbershop and he told my fiancé lives one down would take that kid and showing that he did and I thought he was the worst man in the world because I remember playing parade one time and I made a mistake and he slapped the Trabant blood mammie everywhere I thought it was a waste of prison and well come to find I've lain on that actually paid off. He meant what he

said and he made me a real fine musician. Yes I was working on a riverboat about 16 17 years old I was playing with the best band in town the name of the band was five species on those I read in bands and in those days Mr Davis had actually prepared me follows things that I would come across like green music. Different types of music because when we got to St. Paul Minnesota it was music into four and six eight. So quite natural and I was always instrumental by the great great himself the late Louis Armstrong. So what happened at that time I was just really thinks why because I had a bad habit I like to eat and I had three sesterces. And at that time my mother and father were separated like I was the man of the house so I took over from that. Oh I was in the service when I learned how to write music and

I was taught by the guys to sleep next to me as man in a random room I was in 196 a GFA band and he said but I mean you can play but I think you would do much better. I'll go further. I have two things to do on this case one so want to learn how to write. SECOND MAN time you know in the meantime I was a Saturday and I said oh man my lord I want to go to town on his past. He said you have a lot of time for that so he wrote me out. Some different charts and I took the phone and I had a lot of time because I was not on it for three years and when I got out I wrote my own book. And 1947 I started a band. You. Know what actually happened in the service we were actually playing

them with jazz. There was no such thing as rhythm and blues and that then the server will play some blues tone like from Count Basie but that type of thing Jimmy Ruffin who sang with it with bass and a type of thing when I wasn't introduced anything till I heard that later John and I. Saw what actually happened at that time. I never really believe in records in town. I got to the point where I said well you know what are the people actually like what John is doing and he had the whole well I think at that time so I started writing the same things and also trying to sing I wasn't saying I never professed to be one. But to make a living I had to do something so I said well the best thing for me to do is start saying as a middle age and teens and that was happening with me and I had to ban a range of stuff but I had three homes beside little you always carry one on. So what happened I said you know this will be a bridge pretty good sounds of what I did I made it all sound in

unison so we get a big sound and everybody knew all of the time I was a great band areas then I was lucky enough to get great people like me Allen Alvin rate Tyler the great poem the great honest Michael and all my musicians were great because we were face every day. And what actually happened every day we would come up with something new to make it more rhythm and that what was actually happening was a real good good began to follow us because we could actually feel our music too and we were driving all kind of crowds and I missed three or four thousand people and I want to days doing a week we would draw maybe 1000 maybe doing very well at that time with the band. I was working in clubs I was awakened at different dance halls many many years ago used to have my call a Catholic school would have a home and every Monday and is in the city of New one as we played from one hall to the other and what that happened on Monday nights would be just to name a few of St. Catherine

which is across the street from now. Our child has been around Louisiana. There isn't a more than Saint Catherine and I moved and when I actually have been in for many many I came am amounted to present time they were all one archdiocese of New Orleans Louisiana and that Woods would give us that extra Monday plus one when the weekend would come we play different places like I was playing like and pointed to and I'ma Lousiana bad religion but most people don't know what I'm talking about but the obvious is Louisiana and what actually happened at that time we were white friends and Son is all in different places but we were very busy and I believe Mississippi Biloxi Gulfport passive mode be allowed in all a college town and we were very popular. So and what what happened. I happen to be waken and used in Texas for the laid down road. And.

I got. Introduced to the late Luke not late Lute said to Lou judge he's not late yet. And I. Sat around for a week before he said anything to me because I had come up with quite a few instrumentals that we had just put together and I just say those sound pretty good no name to it. What have what have you but what went on and I said well look and said What happened. But. I never did hear his music before I said well what actually happened I put it together you know I just want to dare and you know something that swing. So he said do you think you can get some minor put a mic on I want to go record. Five cent at that time I say or. I don't know but I can try to show you enough a month later he can the new one in Louisiana knocked on my dome and i'm already. So done at same time we went out. We found Fats Domino and I was as a mental and working with dual King. So we went to Studio A week later when we got time. He gave us time to get our stuff together and when

the studio and cut with god I'm ok not what two million sounds a face night. Like. We're going to time out and I was kind of it was black. And I laid on and I would say in the 50s we graduated start playing the way kids were paid a lot of clubs to call for Nancy I knew on this country late we're country club. Just to name a few and then we graduated to some of the clubs on in Mississippi and Alabama all the college towns and things like that yeah we were very popular with that. I would say that actually happened when rock n roll thing was coming in because the kids would be out on the day as well we'd be playing different things they can even dance the white kids and you know what the hell was going on and it was still with three live fish that type of thing

which I had went on a boat for many many years didn't even know how to dance. So when I graduated with that than come on American Bandstand which we were very instrumental in playing on American Bandstand I would go with fats and. From that day on I think that. The kids got together and they all say where they are with this white and black thing we're all going to get together and have a good time just learn how to dance. Especially. When we walked into this club it was called The Hideaway club I'm told us there were a million times before but for you I'll tell you one more time. It goes like this we walk into the hideaway club the place is packed in jam a small room fights on a pad I now have I have never met fans before the whole place is rocking and he's playing the tune. That most the piano players play doing that time it

was called The Jungle blues they were talking about you know being in penitentiary and all in all I kind of stuff you know but the music was damn good. So. Rob I. Know you really saw or heard something. As I mentioned before. I have actually saved just over a million times as a million to right now when I face Fats Domino he was at the Hideaway club that was downtown new on the Louisiana who walked into the plays Luke Judd was with me and the guy on Imperial record company at the time. The whole place was rocking. And I say this guy's got it. And what actually happened. He gave us some time to get all the material together and Fats was playing with his call the jungle

blues better known as the fat man. So at the time we had a radio show on a new one in Louisiana was very very popular I think was around the United States I say New Orleans because I was going to be that the tone was I mean the radio program was the fact man. We've got to do it again. But just take it about the fan man you know. Yeah you can splice it. Well at the time I we walked into the place I wanted Fats Domino in the whole place is rockin. Oh man the whole place was just everybody in the place were having fun. So Lou said we gotta have this guys showing up we signed him. From Studio A week later. And the rest is history we made the fat man and now we also regard to young lady my name again. Oh my I'm getting all mixed up but I also recall young lady by the name of Zulu king. And we did a tone called three times seven. And both from one million cells at that time. And from that day on.

Fats went on to 22 million sellers in a row. When I actually happen they used to call home music at that time we had rhythm and blues country and western and pop so I felt a Fats Domino was rhythm and blues because 99 percent of the black people they were blues and they felt that music. I think the same is still today what they call it rock and roll. So when I actually haven't had that time so we wanted to more or less just bring out the best in Fats Domino and he was at home doing that type of thing. But widely known. We actually sweeten his background sound when we went to this thing called Ain't that a shame. And when we sweeten and we find out that we would do what is more let's call crossover in this business rhythm and blues when I was salad that time maybe a

hundred thousand records but we found that the guys and we would buy and pop they were selling like a million. So we crossed over and we went to. Ain't that a shame. And we never looked back and we had 22 million in a row after that. What I used to do is to use the strain they have because we were using any as electric bass at that time and to be frank I don't think we Icelander any real good bass players in town playing electric bass. So what I said to double the guitar like I used to use two guitars I double a guitar with the bass to get that sound I didn't have the guitar tone all the way down the bass as far as he could get and I've become not what that and later I want to show quite naturally had the electric bass that carried the background first because it's not Bill in the house if you don't have a good foundation your rhythm

section people homes are pretty. That is your decoration. But if you don't have a good drummer I've got a bass player a good piano player a good guitar. They don't dance by the home of the dance band at the Haunted decoration. You have to have a good foundation. And I always believe in that and I think me on your wall of music started without a good foundation. You can see a band down the street and they have a mounted bass drum and hones is doing the decoration but everybody is shaken in that second line goes with that. It. Takes planning. Well that is the million dollar question. Palmer One of the greatest dramas of our time. Number one I was a dancer. Most people don't know that. So he was bone with rhythm. He wanted a bass got one of the best ears in the well plus he's a ream drummer place he's a finished drama upon one of the greatest dramas of all time.

Most people will say Are you one of the greatest rock and roll drummer but they have to remember that one thing. Well Paul had a bad habit. He liked to eat and the money was with the rhythm and blues so that's why he stayed at anything. Man came from Denver Colorado he was going to say the say the college at the time and he would come around the rhythm club and stand with us and he could play when he got it so from we still don't know because in Denver they don't have so for musicians I where Lee come from we don't know. So I think maybe Man somebody from New Orleans Louisiana was visiting his house. Because Lou really I mean because Lee really could play. Always and when he had the bandstand it was just he gave 100 percent. That's what I like by and by me. Same goes for. Me.

Well that's right because Lee could take a solo and just hang the whole thing around I remember one time he played a solo on one of my record dates and I actually took the solo and put some wood stood in sold 300000 copies on and in the two it was called I'll Be That Way. And he told me that without him you want to be that way. As the one in the shop. Well there's a big story of mine a lot of his clothing. I was awakened out in Kenner Louisiana which is where Apple is right now. What actually happened there. We were working that night so Ally came and he want to you know sat and sing a cover song I said Sure come on I can withstand. So he sang a couple of tunes and things and I said you know you sound real good. But at that time Chad and I had gone our separate ways. So what happened I ask and I was hanging

around the studio just kept an arrangement from Kosmo and things like that so cause the different people would come in and said to him why would you come on down and you won't as you know know how to get the canal in Rampart. But I want to happen here. I finally got down and we started wait and he had to tell a lot of misquoting. It was a pun. We worked on and we worked on and worked on it and I was given my guitar player Hell my plan because I wanted to get some sort of a rhythm going and you don't do you know I don't deny myself and I said that's not a nothing. What the hell do you get that thing from. I said but he really was a jazz guitarist you know he wasn't feeling too many other things. So you go with what you got to go with you don't have nothing else I had to go with that. So I said it sounds like shit but I mean when I go in take it you know so I know what happened and. We did a couple of takes I mean like not going to do here come Fats Domino. That's what I want to

place on the road and can a million seller. Next thing is history live bam. So in the meantime I'm freelance and so Chad calls me on the phone you want me to wait for him. I got two big records going at the present time I got Shirley gone when I'm gone and I got a lot of Priceline it was cloudy. And I'm getting paid weekly band Weekly. Seventeen hundred dollars all I got for a lot of clowning. And no recognition from my price. Not that I really mean it but I mention it and I was sad again but it was just one of those type of things hidden even not a good canal in Rampart mill in a while but I after that you migrated to or. You are to New York City and he was very successful I like a lot of things that he did with his new band because he always had talent and I wished him well and I think you wished me well.

Like Bob is a lot like George Mitchell. To answer that question. I think Professor long I was one of the greatest influence on the on the news account of players. You had another guy who played in the same van towards the late 20s. JOHNSON I don't think just I think his last name out of him he was to the great TO IT WAS Washington yeah. They want and then they had what I'm good and I was also a great to Johnson also on Baton Rouge Louisiana as most people as when I'm going out. And they are. But actually I was a Professor Longhair and the great UK forget the great smile is one of the greatest troubadours of all time and singer I think smile I actually was one of the greatest of all singers because you didn't need a microphone and he was an

authentic singer who can bring out the best in anything you'd walk in a club and break up a club to always call smile everyday smile unless a bad like singer because he had very good material. Not because I wrote the material because I was very like and when I came up with some of the material I wrote I you knock and it was covered by a stone that killed him did he also have the other song One night when I lay down. But later I was present I killed him also on that and I just saw him dead blue Monday. That's a name three big tunes. That's I'm out and have recorded face and people recorded Athenaeum so I always call him a bad luck singer. But I remember him being a troubadour for many many years because he used to come around by my father's about was I'm just an outside and saying when people I bought come out the barber would drop nickels in his hat at the time remember I said Nichols there were no cars there that back a nickel. But I.