Dave Bartholomew, co-wrote 'Ain't That a Shame," dies at 100

Dave Bartholomew, a giant of New Orleans music and a rock n' roll pioneer who with Fats Domino co-wrote and produced such classics as "Ain't That a Shame," ''I'm Walkin'" and "Let the Four Winds Blow," has died. He was 100.

Bartholomew, a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 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. Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.

A trumpet player since childhood and a bandleader and arranger before World War II, Bartholomew befriended Domino in the late 1940s and collaborated with the singer-piano player on dozens of hits that captured Domino's good-natured appeal, making him one of rock's first stars and New Orleans a center for popular music. Throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, virtually anyone recording in New Orleans ended up performing Bartholomew songs or working with him in the studio.

"Ain't That A Shame" (originally titled "Ain't It a Shame") and "I'm Walkin'" were among Domino's many top 10 hits, with worldwide sales for Domino eventually surpassing 60 million records. Domino's boogie-woogie flair and ringing triplets on piano and Bartholomew's funky, "Big Beat" arrangements, with their second line drum rhythms and chorus of saxophone players, were so distinctive that covers of such pre-rock standards as "Blueberry Hill" and "My Blue Heaven" sounded no less original than the songs by Domino and Bartholomew.

"Actually, we never sat down to write anything. He and I just played," Bartholomew told The Times-Picayune in 2010. "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."

Bartholomew's credits extended well beyond his work with Domino, who died in 2017.

He produced the Lloyd Price hit "Lawdy Miss Clawdy." He wrote (and originally performed) the novelty song "My Ding-a-Ling" that became Chuck Berry's first No. 1 single in the U.S. The Bartholomew-Earl King ballad "One Night" was a hit for Smiley Lewis and (in a censored version) for Elvis Presley in the 1950s and a highlight of Presley's 1968 "comeback" Christmas television special. British rocker Dave Edmunds had success in the early 1970s with Bartholomew-King's "I Hear You Knocking," while John Lennon, the Four Seasons, and Cheap Trick were among those who recorded "Ain't That a Shame."

Bartholomew had his own hit in 1949 with the brassy "Country Boy," and became New Orleans' top producer and arranger through his years at Imperial Records, where artists included Domino, Frankie Ford, Chris Kenner, Huey "Piano" Smith and the duo Shirley & Lee. After his initial run with Domino, he led his own band and recorded such albums as "Dave Bartholomew and the Maryland Jazz Band" and "New Orleans Big Beat." He also joined Domino for international tours and made appearances with Dr. John, Allen Toussaint and other New Orleans artists. Toussaint died in 2015, and Dr. John passed away on June 6.

The Bartholomew family's legacy spans a century, from son Don Bartholomew's work with Lil Wayne and other hip-hop artists back to Dave Bartholomew's ties to Louis Armstrong and the birth of jazz.

Born in Edgard, Louisiana, in 1918 and a resident of New Orleans since the 1930s, Bartholomew learned the trumpet from Peter Davis, who had mentored Armstrong. He was playing riverboat gigs in his teens, leading bands in his early 20s and developed his writing and arranging skills while with the 196th Army Ground Forces Band during World War II. After returning home, he assembled his own group, which featured such prominent sidemen as drummer Earl Palmer and saxophonist Lee Allen.

The partnership between the detail-minded Bartholomew, who called himself a "slave driver" in his quest for the right sound, and the more easygoing Domino took time to fully catch on. After a million-selling collaboration in 1949 with "The Fat Man," a reworking of "Junker's Blues" — often cited as one of the earliest rock records, the two drifted apart when Bartholomew briefly left Imperial. But they had a handful of minor hits and rebounded fully in the mid-1950s with "Ain't That a Shame," a crossover smash as the rock era was taking off, although briefly obscured by Pat Boone's bland cover version. In 1956-57 alone, Domino had 17 songs in Billboard's top 100 and he remained popular until the Beatles' arrival in the mid-1960s.

Bartholomew and Domino had a long hiatus in the 1980s and '90s before performing together in 1999 at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. In 2014, they attended a premier in New Orleans of a documentary about their work, Joe Lauro's "The Big Beat." During a question and answer session after the film, Domino was reluctant to speak, so Bartholomew stepped in.

"You know, Fats," he said, putting an arm around his friend. "We have been blessed."

Bartholomew is survived by his wife, eight children, and 25 grandchildren, said his son Ron.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia has moved some troops onto an airbase in Niger where a small number of U.S. forces remain, but Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he doesn't see it as a significant issue. Most American troops left that base in the nation's capital, Niamey, a U.S. official said.

The arrival of Russian trainers in the West African country about three weeks ago came in the wake of Niger’s decision to order out all U.S. troops. The order dealt a blow to U.S. military operations in the Sahel, a vast region south of the Sahara desert where groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group operate.

The Pentagon has said the U.S. troops will depart but has not provided a timeline.

When Russian troops arrived last month, it was unclear where they were staying. The Niamey base, Austin said late Thursday, is located at the capital city's Diori Hamani International Airport, and “the Russians are in a separate compound and don’t have access to U.S. forces or access to our equipment.”

He said the U.S. will continue to watch the situation but he doesn't see it as a significant force protection issue.

A U.S. official said the Russian forces are on the other side of the Niamey facility, known as Airbase 101, and that other international forces — such as the Germans and Italians — also reside. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements. It's unclear how many U.S. troops remain at the Niamey base.

The Russian presence on the base comes as tensions remain high between Washington and Moscow over the ongoing U.S. support for Ukraine's military.

About 1,000 U.S. troops are still in Niger, but the bulk of them moved to what's called Airbase 201 near Agadez, some 920 kilometers (550 miles) away from the capital, not long after mutinous soldiers ousted the country’s democratically elected president last July.

A few months later, the ruling junta asked French forces to leave and turned to the Russian mercenary group Wagner for security assistance.

In October, Washington officially designated the military takeover as a coup, which triggered U.S. laws restricting the military support and aid that it can provide to Niger. Since then, diplomatic efforts to restore ties with Niger have been unsuccessful.

Until recently, Washington considered Niger a key partner and ally in a region swept by coups in recent years, investing millions of dollars in the Agadez base, which has been critical to U.S. counterterrorism operations in the Sahel. The U.S. also has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in training Niger’s military since it began operations there in 2013.

The Pentagon also has said the U.S. will relocate most of the approximately 100 forces it has deployed in neighboring Chad for now. Chad is also considering whether to continue its security agreement with the U.S.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters that the departure from Chad "is a temporary step as part of the ongoing review of our security cooperation, which will resume after Chad’s May 6th presidential election.”

FILE - Supporters of Niger's ruling junta gather for a protest called to fight for the country's freedom and push back against foreign interference, in Niamey, Niger, Aug. 3, 2023. Russia has moved some troops onto an airbase in Niger where a small number of U.S. forces remain after most American troops left the base in Niamey, the nation's capital, a U.S. official said Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)