Ain't That a Shame
| "Ain't That a Shame" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Fats Domino | ||||
| from the album Rock and Rollin' with Fats Domino | ||||
| B-side | "La-La" | |||
| Released | 14 April 1955 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 2:16 | |||
| Label | Imperial | |||
| Writer(s) | Antoine Domino, Dave Bartholomew | |||
| Fats Domino singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| "Ain't That a Shame!" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Four Seasons | ||||
| from the album Ain't That a Shame and 11 Others | ||||
| B-side | "Soon (I'll Be Home Again)" (from the same album) | |||
| Released | April 1963 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 2:36 | |||
| Label | Vee-Jay Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Antoine Domino, Dave Bartholomew | |||
| Producer(s) | Bob Crewe | |||
| The Four Seasons singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| "Ain't That a Shame" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Cheap Trick | ||||
| from the album Cheap Trick at Budokan | ||||
| B-side | "ELO Kiddies" | |||
| Released | 1979 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Genre | Power pop, hard rock | |||
| Length | 5:10 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Writer(s) | Antoine Domino, Dave Bartholomew | |||
| Cheap Trick singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Ain't That a Shame" is a song written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew. Released by Imperial Records in 1955,[1] the song was a hit for Domino, eventually selling a million copies. It reached #1 on the "Black Singles" chart and #10 on the "Pop Singles" chart.[2] The song is ranked #438[3] on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song gained national fame after being re-recorded by white recording artist Pat Boone.[4] Domino's version soon became more popular, bringing Domino's music to the mass market a half dozen years after his first major recording, "The Fat Man".[5]
After "Ain't That a Shame", mainstream artists began covering Domino's songs. Teresa Brewer, for instance, performed the Domino rewrite of a folk song called "Bo Weevil".
The Four Seasons version hit #22 on the Billboard charts in 1963.[6]
According to legend, Pat Boone suggested the title and lyrics be altered to "Isn't That A Shame" to make it more appealing to a broader audience but was dissuaded by his producers.[7] Despite his suggestion being rejected, Boone had his first Billboard number-one single in 1955. Domino complimented Boone's cover of the song.[4] Boone likes to tell the story about a Fats Domino concert and Domino invited Boone on stage. Domino showed a big gold ring and said "Pat Boone bought me this ring."[8]
This was the first song that John Lennon learned to play. He later covered it on Rock 'n' Roll.[9]
On the screen
Fats Domino can be seen performing this song in a 1956 film Shake, Rattle & Rock!. The song is heard in American Graffiti, and is used in the movies October Sky, L.A. Story, School Ties and Mischief. As of April 2007, the song can be heard in commercials for Dr Pepper. It can be heard at the end of the Season Four finale of the television series The Shield. It was also included in the soundtrack for the 2010 video game Mafia II.
Chart positions (Cheap Trick version)
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 35 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 10 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 25 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 24 |
Covers
- Hank Williams, Jr. in 2007 from the album American Legends: Best Of The Early Years
- Paul McCartney in 1988 on Снова в СССР, then in 1990 on Tripping the Live Fantastic. The latter recorded live during his World tour.
- Cheap Trick in 1979. It charted at #35 after being released on their live album Cheap Trick at Budokan. (Reportedly Fats Domino's favorite cover)
- Pat Torpey covered the Cheap Trick version in 1999 on Y2K.
- Brownsville Station in 1977 on the album Brownsville Station.
- Tanya Tucker in 1976 on Lovin' and Learnin'.
- John Lennon in 1975 on Rock 'n' Roll. Lennon's version is also the opening track on the 2007 tribute album Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard Records).
- Mud in 1982.
- The Four Seasons in 1963 on Ain't That A Shame and 11 Others
- Pat Boone in 1955. It hit #1 for two weeks on the Billboard Most Played in Jukeboxes charts.
See also
Notes and references
- ↑ Domino, Fats. "The Story Of Fats Domino's 'Ain't That A Shame'". NPR. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
- ↑ "Fats Domino | Awards". AllMusic. 1928-02-26. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
- ↑ Rodman, Sarah. "Fats Domino, 'Ain't It a Shame' - 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
- 1 2 "Show 6 - Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll: The rock revolution gets underway. [Part 2] : UNT Digital Library". Digital.library.unt.edu. 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942-1988, p. 122. Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-068-7
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 237.
- ↑ Cavallo, Dominick (1999). A Fiction of the Past: The Sixties in American History, p. 151. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-21930-X.
- ↑ Archived August 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Ain't That A Shame by Fats Domino Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
External links
| Preceded by "Unchained Melody" by Roy Hamilton |
Billboard R&B Best Sellers in Stores number-one single June 11, 1955 - August 13, 1955 |
Succeeded by "Maybellene" by Chuck Berry |
| ||||||||||||||||||
