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Ain't That a Shame

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"Ain't That a Shame"
Song
B-side"La-La"
"Ain't That a Shame"
Song
B-side"Soon (I'll Be Home Again)" (from the same album)
"Ain't That a Shame"
Song
B-side"ELO Kiddies"

"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

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ Domino, Fats. "The Story of Fats Domino's 'Ain't That a Shame'". NPR. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  2. ^ "Fats Domino | Awards". AllMusic. 1928-02-26. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  3. ^ Rodman, Sarah. "Fats Domino, 'Ain't It a Shame' - 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  4. ^ a b "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.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 122. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). Record Research. p. 237.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ [1] Archived August 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Ain't That A Shame by Fats Domino Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
Preceded by Billboard R&B Best Sellers in Stores number-one single
June 11, 1955 - August 13, 1955 		Succeeded by
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