AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Billy Ward & The Dominoes

Artist:Billy Ward & The Dominoes
Song:Sixty Minute Man
Album:14 Hits Volume One





Sixty Minute Man was one of the first R&B songs to cross over to pop in 1951. Some consider it to be the first Rock 'N' Roll song. I think the record was a heavy influence on Doo Wop but not on Rock 'N' Roll. It was also where Clyde McPhatter and Jackie Wilson got their starts. There's no question that Sixty Minute man is a timeless classic. Billy Ward grew up in Philadelphia playing piano in his father's church. His mother was also a musician. Ward was a piano child prodigy. He won a composition award at age 14 and he studied at Juilliard. Then he moved to New York to work as a vocal coach and arranger on Broadway and he met Rose Marks who became his agent and songwriting partner. They formed an R&B group from his students with Clyde McPhatter who Ward saw win a contest at the Apollo, Charlie White, Joe Lamont and Bill Brown. Ward was pianist and arranger. He didn't sing. After appearing at the Apollo and on The Arthur Godfrey Show, they signed with the King Records label Federal and named The Dominoes. Sixty Minute Man was their third single in 1951. It topped the R&B Singles chart and reached #17 on the Pop Singles chart. Though McPhatter was usually the lead singer, bass singer Bill Brown sang lead on Sixty Minute Man. Of course the song was about sex and I think that is one of the reasons the song is still popular. Ron Shelton used it in the sex in the bathtub scene in his 1988 film Bull Durham. The Dominoes' success was brief as Brown and White left in 1952 to form The Checkers. Brown died in 1956. McPhatter sang lead on The Dominoes other #1 R&B hit Have Mercy Baby. He left in 1953 to form The Drifters. By the time The Dominoes signed with Decca in 1954, it was an all new group featuring Jackie Wilson. They weren't as successful and Wilson left to go solo in 1957. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. Ward continued to lead The Dominoes on the oldies circuit. He died in 2002. Here's a video of Sixty Minute Man by Billy Ward & The Dominoes.