The Dominoes

about

Billy Ward and His Dominoes were one of the top American R&B groups of the 1950s, and launched the careers of both Clyde McPhatter and Jackie Wilson. Billy Ward (born Robert L. Williams, 19 September 1921, Savannah, Georgia—died 16 February 2002, Inglewood, California) grew up in Philadelphia, the second of three sons of Charles Williams and Cora Bates Williams, and was a child musical prodigy, winning an award for a piano composition at the age of 14. Following military service he studied music in Chicago, and at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. While working as a vocal coach and part-time arranger on Broadway, he met talent agent Rose Marks, who became his business and songwriting partner. The pair set out to form a vocal group from the ranks of his students. The group was at first called the Ques, and comprised Clyde McPhatter (lead tenor), Charlie White (tenor), Joe Lamont (baritone), and Bill Brown (bass). Ward acted as their pianist and arranger. After the group made successful appearances on talent shows in the Apollo Theater and on the Arthur Godfrey show in 1950, Rene Hall recommended them to Ralph Bass of Federal Records, a subsidiary of King, where they were signed to a recording contract and renamed themselves the Dominoes. Their first single release, "Do Something For Me", with McPhatter’s lead vocal, reached the R&B charts in early 1951, climbing to #6. After a less successful follow-up, the group released "Sixty Minute Man", on which Brown sang lea

top songs

albums

Presenting the Dominoes

Music Maestro Please

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Best Of Doo Wop

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25 Years Of Rhythm And Blues Hits

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The Dominoes Collection 1951-59, Vol. 2

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Billy Ward & The Dominoes Their Greatest Hits

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Doo Wop Classics Vol. 10

The Dominoes' Have Mercy Baby

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100 Doo Wop Hits

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Impossible To Love You

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200 Hits Of The 50s And 60s

Doo Wop Madness

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