New Orleans music legend Dave Bartholomew has died at the age of 100. The artist reportedly died Sunday in a suburban New Orleans hospital, his eldest son Dave Bartholomew Jr. told The Associated Press.
“His body simply broke down. Daddy was 100 years and six months old. It was just that time,” his son said.
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The musician, composer, and Rock n' Roll pioneer collaborated with Fats Domino and co-wrote and produced such classics as "Ain't That a Shame," ''I'm Walkin," “Blue Monday,” and "Let the Four Winds Blow."
A trumpeter and band leader, Bartholomew fused Mardi Gras parade rhythms, jump blues, big-band jazz, and Tin Pan Alley pop, to create a signature sound that transfused across rock ’n’ roll.
Under Bartholomew’s direction, Domino placed 65 singles on the Billboard pop chart from 1955 to 1964. The only other rock ’n’ roll singer who has more during that period was Elvis Presley.
He also produced and arranged hits by Lloyd Price (“Lawdy Miss Clawdy”), Shirley and Lee (“Let the Good Times Roll”) and Smiley Lewis (“I Hear You Knocking”). Chuck Berry’s only No. 1 pop single, “My Ding-a-Ling,” was an adaptation of Bartholomew 's 1952 song, “Little Girl Sing Ding-a-Ling."
Elton John, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Hank Williams Jr., Cheap Trick, and more have recorded material associated with Bartholomew.
\u201cTrumpeter, composer and producer Dave Bartholomew died Sunday morning at the age of 100. Here he\u2019s pictured with his prot\u00e9g\u00e9e Fats Domino in 1999 and at a 2014 documentary premiere with Dr. John, another New Orleans legend who passed away only two weeks ago.\u201d
