Billy Ward and His Dominoes were one of the top American R&B groups of the … Read Full Bio ↴Billy Ward and His Dominoes were one of the top American R&B groups of the 1950s, and launched the careers of both Clyde McPhatter and Jackie Wilson.

Billy Ward (born Robert L. Williams, 19 September 1921, Savannah, Georgia—died 16 February 2002, Inglewood, California) grew up in Philadelphia, the second of three sons of Charles Williams and Cora Bates Williams, and was a child musical prodigy, winning an award for a piano composition at the age of 14. Following military service he studied music in Chicago, and at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. While working as a vocal coach and part-time arranger on Broadway, he met talent agent Rose Marks, who became his business and songwriting partner.

The pair set out to form a vocal group from the ranks of his students. The group was at first called the Ques, and comprised Clyde McPhatter (lead tenor), Charlie White (tenor), Joe Lamont (baritone), and Bill Brown (bass). Ward acted as their pianist and arranger. After the group made successful appearances on talent shows in the Apollo Theater and on the Arthur Godfrey show in 1950, Rene Hall recommended them to Ralph Bass of Federal Records, a subsidiary of King, where they were signed to a recording contract and renamed themselves the Dominoes. Their first single release, "Do Something For Me", with McPhatter’s lead vocal, reached the R&B charts in early 1951, climbing to #6.

After a less successful follow-up, the group released "Sixty Minute Man", on which Brown sang lead, and boasted of being able to satisfy his girls with fifteen minutes each of "kissin'" "teasin'" and "squeezin'", before "blowin'" his "top". It reached #1 on the R&B chart in May 1951 and stayed there for a 14 weeks. It was an important record in several respects—it crossed the boundaries between gospel singing and blues, its lyrics pushed the limits of what was deemed acceptable, and it appealed to many white as well as black listeners, peaking at #17 on the pop charts. In later years, it became a contender for the title of "the first rock and roll record".

The group toured widely, building up a reputation as one of the top R&B acts of the era, and an audience which crossed racial divides. However, Ward's strict disciplinarian approach, and failure to recompense the singers, caused internal problems. The name "The Dominoes" was owned by Ward and Marks, who had the power to hire and fire, and to pay the singers a salary. Clyde McPhatter was being paid barely enough to live on, and often found himself billed as "Clyde Ward" to fool fans into thinking he was Billy Ward's brother. White and Brown both left in 1951 to form The Checkers, and were replaced by James Van Loan and David McNeil (previously of The Larks).

In March 1952, the Dominoes were chosen to be the only vocal group at Alan Freed's "Moondog Coronation Ball". The hits continued, with "Have Mercy Baby" topping the R&B charts for 10 weeks in 1952. However, in early 1953, McPhatter also decided to leave, and soon formed a new group, The Drifters. His replacement in the Dominoes was Jackie Wilson, who had sung with the group on tour. Lamont and McNeil also left and were replaced by Milton Merle and Cliff Givens. With Wilson singing lead, singles such as "You Can't Keep A Good Man Down" continued to be successful.

In 1954, Ward moved the group to the Jubilee label and then to Decca, where they enjoyed a #27 pop hit with "St. Teresa of the Roses". However, the group were unable to follow that success in the charts, and there were a succession of personnel changes. They increasingly moved away from their R&B roots with appearances in Las Vegas and elsewhere. In late 1956, Wilson left for a solo career and was replaced by Gene Mumford of The Larks. The group then got a new contract with Liberty Records, and had a #13 pop hit with "Stardust". This proved to be their last major success, although various line-ups of the group continued recording and performing into the 1960s.

They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2006.

Former members
Billy Ward
Clyde McPhatter
Charlie White
Joe Lamont
Bill Brown
James Van Loan
David McNeil
Jackie Wilson
Milton Merle
Cliff Givens

Feelin' Good
The Dominoes Lyrics

We have lyrics for 'Feelin' Good' by these artists:

A.M. Early Morning Feelin' Good 悩める街で見つけたパラダイス You're so Fine 俺本気で決意！ Now! I wa…
Ayo Teo Come on you got it Don′t let up you better move The…
Black Cat Bones Descarga el Tono "Feeling Good" "Feeling Good" Birds flyi…
Charlie Robison Feelin good my friend, I got 4 wheels upon the…
Chi Coltrane I'm feelin' good Oh yes, I'm feelin' good, oh, yeaheah I'm…
Chingoos I'm feelin good when I got my nice kicks on…
Chris So you're telling me that I gotta sing bad? Sing…
Christina Grimmie Before last night I was down on my luck There was nothing…
Chuxx Morris I'm feeling good I'm feeling good I got that be rockin I fee…

Colin James Well, I feel so good I'm gonna boogie I'm gonna boogie Till …
da pump Feelin' good 悩める街で見つけたパラダイス You're so fine 俺本気で決意! Now I wan…
Danny & The Red Hots I'm feeling good Yeah I'm feeling good See it's complex I a…
De Toppers Birds flying high, you know how I feel Sun in the…
Debbie Sledge Birds flyin' high, you know how I feel Sun in the…
DJ.DAI How is everybody feeling? Got a good feelin'…
Ellen Once Again Something’s got a hold of me I got no worries and…
Ethan Patrick Feelin' good Feelin' right Two A.M. Summer night, she's on m…
Faithless I want the view from the top of the hill Give…
Faithless feat. Dido I want the view from the top of the hill Give…
Feelin' Good Nina Simone Miscellaneous Feeling Good Birds flying high yo…
GOT7 Hoo woo oh wow wow You make me feel real good Dadaradada…
J Lloyd Got you feelin’ good You know That I just want…
J.B. Lenoir Feelin' good, feelin' good All the money in the world spent…
Joe Bonamassa Birds flying high, you know how I feel Sun in the…
Jyra No matter how I feel I'm feeling good No matter how I…
K.Avett Vibrating so high and I'm feeling good Roll up a wood…
Kaz Hawkins Birds flying high, you know how I feel Sun in the…
Lena Horne Birds flying high You know how I feel Sun in the sky You…
Levon Helm Feelin' good, feelin' good All the money in the world…
Little Junior Bird flyin' high You know how I feel Sun in the sky You…
Makuta Feelin' good Feelin' oh so good Oh so, oh so Ha Now…
Mr. And-7 Hoo woo oh wow wow You make me feel real good Dadaradada…
Norman I'm feelin' good I'm feelin' good Slow d…
Oleta Adams Birds flying high you know how I feel Sun in the…
Ozark Mountain Daredevils (Guitars & piano intro w/ guitar solo) How many times, I…
PARK WOO JIN Yeah 완벽한 날씨에 구름은 바쁘네 우리 옆집 아저씨 여자가 또 바뀌었네 혼자가…
Pussycat Dolls Been flying high You know how I feel Sewn in the sky You…
Sophie B. Hawkins Written by: Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley Bird flyin' high…
The Fabulous Thunderbirds Well, I feel so good I'm gonna boogie, I'm gonna boogie,…
The Frank Cunimondo Trio Hərdən üşüyərsən, çox soyuqdur donar insan Sakitlik, özünü b…
The Growlers You bang other chicks sometimes you hide it You take anythin…
The Orphan The Poet Don't stop, now or never Call up my fortune teller On top,…
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils (Guitars & piano intro w/ guitar solo) How many times, I…
The Pussycat Dolls Been flying high You know how I feel Sewn in the sky You…
The Stevenson Ranch Davidians I don't feel like doing this don't feel like doing that don'…
The Uncle Earl Everybody are you ready Throw your hands in the air And shou…
The Wrong Side I've been feelin' pretty good today so far nothing's gotten …
Traffic (Bricusse/Newley) Bird flying in the sky, you know how I …
Vana Liya It's been a long time coming, So I won't hold…
various artist Birds flyin' high you know how I feel Sun in the…
李玟李玟我知道是上天安排我们在这时刻相遇在一起我们都被祝福常常有好心情一见你就有好心情不用暖身就会开心因为…
박우진 Yeah 완벽한 날씨에 구름은 바쁘네 우리 옆집 아저씨 여자가 또 바뀌었네 혼자가…

We have lyrics for these tracks by The Dominoes:

60 Minute Man Sixty-minute man, sixty-minute man Look a here girls I'm t…
Above Jacob's Ladder Three coins in the fountain, Each one seeking happiness. T…
Carry Go Bring Come This carry go bring come, my dear, brings misery This carry…
Christmas In Heaven It's Christmas in Heaven And it's Heaven here with you And d…
Deep Purple Woo, Wo-o-oo-wo-wo, Wo-o-oo-wo-wo, Wo-o-oo-wo-wo When the…
Give Me You Give me the sun give me the moon give me the stars with…
Have Mercy Baby Somewhere on the hill? Chasing some poor criminal And I gues…
I Am with You I need your love so badly, I love you, oh,…
Little Lie I'd wait for you I'd slave for you I'd be a beggar…
Little Things Mean A Lot Blow me a kiss from across the room Say I look…
Love Love Love There is no greater love Than what I feel for you No…
One Moment With You I need your love so badly, I love you, oh,…
Over the Rainbow Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high There's a land that…
Rags To Riches I know I'd go from rags to riches If you would…
September Song Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December But…
Sixty Minute Man Sixty-minute man, sixty-minute man Look a here girls I'm te…
Solitude In my solitude You haunt me With dreadful ease Of days gone …
St. Louis Blues I hate to see that evening sun go down, I…
Star Dust And now the purple dusk of twilight time Steals across the…
Tenderly The evening breeze caressed the trees tenderly The trembling…
These Foolish Things Oh! Will you never let me be? Oh! Will you never…
Three Coins In The Fountain Three coins in the fountain, Each one seeking happiness. Thr…
Until The Real Thing Comes Along I'd wait for you I'd slave for you I'd be a beggar…
When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano When the swallows come back to Capistrano That's the day you…

You Can't Keep A Good Man Down You Can't Keep A Good Man Down Luther King was a…

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