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
Songwriter(s) Antoine Domino, Dave Bartholomew
Fats Domino singles chronology
"Don't You Know"
(1955)		 "Ain't That a Shame"
(1955)		 "All by Myself"
(1955)
"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
Songwriter(s) Antoine Domino, Dave Bartholomew
Producer(s) Bob Crewe
The Four Seasons singles chronology
"Walk Like a Man"
(1963)		 "Ain't That a Shame!"
(1963)		 "Candy Girl"
(1963)
"Ain't That a Shame"
Single by Cheap Trick
from the album Cheap Trick at Budokan
B-side "ELO Kiddies"
Released July 1979
Format 7"
Genre Power pop, hard rock
Length 5:10
Label Epic
Songwriter(s) Antoine Domino, Dave Bartholomew
Producer(s) Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick singles chronology
"I Want You to Want Me"
(1979)		 "Ain't That a Shame"
(1979)		 "Dream Police"
(1979)

"Ain't That a Shame" is a song written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew. Domino's recording of the song (mistitled on the single's label as "Ain't It A Shame"), 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 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

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," since Domino and Bartholomew, as the song's writers, received royalties on it from record sales or radio airplay of other performers' cover versions of their song. [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.

Cheap Trick cover

Cheap Trick's version charted at #35 after being released on their live album Cheap Trick at Budokan. Reportedly, this was Fats Domino's favorite cover.[10] Domino also gave Cheap Trick his gold record for his 1955 single, which is held by guitarist Rick Nielsen. [11]

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.

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

Other cover versions

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. 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.
  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. ↑ Archived August 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ "Ain't That A Shame by Fats Domino Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  10. ↑ Sullivan, Denise. "Ain't It a Shame". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  11. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BartzaqF_w3/
  12. ↑ "Hank Williams Jr. - Ain't That A Shame". YouTube. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
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