Dave Bartholomew

A versatile talent who shaped much of New Orleans R&B during the 1950s, Dave Bartholomew also billed himself as the originator of the “Big Beat.” His catalog eventually swelled past 4,000 compositions, and he arranged and produced enduring sides for Shirley & Lee, Lloyd Price, Smiley Lewis, and, most notably, Fats Domino. Born December 24, 1918, in Edgard, Louisiana, Bartholomew began on tuba and trumpet, leading various ensembles around the Crescent City until military service interrupted his career. The army stint supplied him with arranging and scoring skills that proved invaluable once World War II ended. Returning home, he assembled a core group of players—saxophonists Alvin “Red” Tyler and Lee Allen plus drummer Earl Palmer—who soon became the city’s premier backing unit for visiting solo artists. Bartholomew’s first session under his own name took place in 1947 for Deluxe, yet the label folded before the recordings could gain traction. Two years later he encountered Lew Chudd, who was launching Imperial Records, and was promptly engaged as house arranger, bandleader, and talent scout. In that capacity Bartholomew generated a steady stream of hits throughout the decade for Fats Domino, Shirley & Lee, Smiley Lewis, Earl King, Chris Kenner, Tommy Ridgely, Frankie Ford, Robert Parker, and many others. He remained at Imperial until its run of successes faded in the mid-1960s, after which he spent brief periods with Trumpet, Mercury, and his own Broadmoor imprint. During the 1970s and 1980s Bartholomew accepted assorted behind-the-scenes roles while relying on his accumulated song royalties, and he organized a Dixieland jazz ensemble that still performs regularly in the Crescent City. The following decade brought his 1991 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as well as two album releases: Dave Bartholomew & the Maryland Jazz Band in 1995 and New Orleans Big Beat three years afterward. He died June 23, 2019, in Metairie, Louisiana, at the age of 100.