Anyone remember Billy Ward and the Dominoes? Clyde McFatter, Jackie Wilson?
Deep Purple, St. Theresa of the Roses, Stardust, Sixty Minute Man, were some of their hits, they had a number of them and I think Billy wrote a lot of them.
I got to know them when they played the Golden Hotel in Reno. In those days, blacks could entertain, but they were not allowed to "mingle" with the customers in the room. The Golden was a hotel, and let them have rooms in the hotel. Not many did that in those days. I remember Sammy Davis and his uncle did their show at the Mapes and had to stay in a motel way out on Sough Virginia.
On a number of occasions we had Billy and his group out for dinner, not too many restaurants that we could go to together. They always enjoyed the home cooking, they loved my fried chicken, mashed potatoes, pan gravy, peas and biscuits.
A friend of a friend saw Billy's picture in the Reno Entertainment Section and was interested in meeting him. I arranged to go up to their room at the Golden after their last show of the evening, so that she could meet him. Mixed relationships were frowned on in those days, blacks were not even allowed in the casinos yet, so a mixed relationship was frowned on and difficult to work out, and she had a young daughter from a previous marriage. I think they eventually got married and moved to California, last I heard of them.
I corresponded with a couple of the Dominoes after I left an came back to Ohio, but eventually lost contact with them. They were a good lounge act, played well to the audience, good material and acknowledged their friends from the stage. Always thought that was smart.
The Gaylords, The Vagabonds, Louis Prima, Sam Butera, there were a lot of great lounge acts in those days, I wonder what they have today?
