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-inch single | |||
| 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. Domino's recording of the song, released by Imperial Records in 1955,[1] was a hit, eventually selling a million copies. It reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 10 on the pop chart.[2] The song is ranked number 438[3] on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song gained national fame after being re-recorded by the white recording artist Pat Boone.[4] Domino's version soon became more popular, bringing his music to the mass market a half-dozen years after his first recording, "The Fat Man".[5]
After "Ain't That a Shame", mainstream artists began covering Domino's songs. Teresa Brewer, for instance, performed Domino's version of the folk song "Bo Weevil".
A version of the song by the Four Seasons reached number 22 on the Billboard charts in 1963.[6]
According to legend, Pat Boone suggested changing the title and lyrics to "Isn't That a Shame" to make it more appealing to a broader audience but was dissuaded by his producers.[7] Nevertheless, Boone's recording of the song in 1955 was his first Billboard number-one single. Domino complimented Boone's cover of the song.[4] Boone liked to tell a story about a concert at which Domino invited Boone on stage, showed a big gold ring and said, "Pat Boone bought me this ring."[8]
"Ain't That a Shame" was the first song that John Lennon learned to play. He later covered it on the album Rock 'n' Roll.[9]
On the screen
Domino performed the song in the 1956 film Shake, Rattle & Rock!. The song is used in the films American Graffiti, 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
- Pat Boone in 1955. It hit #1 for two weeks on the Billboard Most Played in Jukeboxes charts.
- The Four Seasons in 1963 on Ain't That A Shame and 11 Others
- 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).
- Tanya Tucker in 1976 on Lovin' and Learnin'.
- Brownsville Station in 1977 on the album Brownsville Station.
- 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)
- Cheap Trick performed the song live as the finale of the 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. They were joined by Robert Lamm, James Pankow, Lee Loughnane and Walter Parazaider of Chicago, David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple, Steve Miller, Sheryl Crow, Grace Potter, Steven Van Zandt, Rob Thomas and Paul Shaffer
- Mud in 1982.
- Paul McCartney in 1988 on Снова в СССР, then in 1990 on Tripping the Live Fantastic. The latter recorded live during his World tour.
- Pat Torpey covered the Cheap Trick version in 1999 on Y2K.
- Hank Williams, Jr. in 2007 from the album American Legends: Best Of The Early Years
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]". Digital.library.unt.edu. 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 122. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). Record Research. p. 237.
- ↑ Cavallo, Dominick (1999). A Fiction of the Past: The Sixties in American History. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 151. 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 |
