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
Star Dust
The Dominoes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Steals across the meadows of my heart
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Always reminding me that we're apart
You wander down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by
The lonely night dreaming of a song
The melody haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
Now my consolation
Is in the stardust of a song
Beside a garden wall
When stars are bright
You are in my arms
The nightingale tells his fairy tale
A paradise where roses bloom
Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain
The Dominoes's song Star Dust is a poignant and romantic ballad that speaks of love, loss, and nostalgia. The song begins with the purple dusk of twilight time stealing across the meadows of the singer's heart, heightening his sense of loss and separation from his lover. He muses on the beauty of the night sky, where little stars climb higher and higher, always reminding him of how far apart he and his beloved are. The singer then recalls how his lover has gone away, leaving him with a song that will not die, and how love is now the stardust of yesterday, reminding him of the years gone by.
The second verse of the song delves further into the singer's memory of his lover, whom he dreams of every lonely night. The melody of the song haunts his reverie, and he feels transported back to a time when their love was new, and each kiss was an inspiration. However, he knows that time has passed, and his only consolation now is in the stardust of a song. He remembers standing beside a garden wall, holding his lover in his arms while the nightingale tells his fairy tale of a paradise where roses bloom. Though he dreams in vain, the memory of his love's refrain remains forever in his heart.
Overall, The Dominoes's song Star Dust is a beautiful and poignant ode to lost love and the power of memories to keep those we love alive in our hearts long after they are gone.
Line by Line Meaning
And now the purple dusk of twilight time
The sky's purple shade during sunset reminds me of our moments together.
Steals across the meadows of my heart
The feeling of loneliness engulfs my heart like the dusk steals across the meadows.
High up in the sky the little stars climb
The stars remind me that we are physically apart.
Always reminding me that we're apart
The stars keep repeating the truth that we are apart, even when I don't want to hear it.
You wander down the lane and far away
You left me and went far away, with no knowledge of how much I still love you.
Leaving me a song that will not die
You left behind memories that still linger in my heart.
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
Our love is now a distant memory like the stardust of yesterday, and I can only hold on to it with my memories.
The music of the years gone by
The memories of the love we shared are now the only music I can listen to.
Sometimes I wonder why I spend
I question the reason why I waste my lonely nights thinking of you and our memories.
The lonely night dreaming of a song
I spend my nights dreaming about the love we shared, which is now just a memory.
The melody haunts my reverie
The tune of the music we shared keeps echoing in my mind.
And I am once again with you
In my mind, I go back in time and feel like you are still with me.
When our love was new
The memories of the early days of our love are still fresh in my mind.
And each kiss an inspiration
Every time we kissed, it filled me with inspiration, and I always felt the deep love we shared.
But that was long ago
But now, it is just a memory of the past.
Now my consolation
The only thing that gives me comfort or consolation is the lovely memories that we shared.
Is in the stardust of a song
The memories of our love are like the stardust in a song that keeps me company when you are away.
Beside a garden wall
The memories take me back to the time we spent together in the garden, holding hands, and smiling at each other.
When stars are bright
The memories are brighter and more detailed when the stars are visible at night.
You are in my arms
Through memories, I can feel your presence and hugs around me.
The nightingale tells his fairy tale
The songs of the birds, especially the nightingale, bring back the memories of the fairy tale romance we shared.
A paradise where roses bloom
The memories take me to a paradise where everything was perfect and lovely, and where the roses always bloom.
Though I dream in vain
Even if I dream of being with you again, it won't come true.
In my heart it will remain
The memories and love we shared will always remain fresh in my heart and never fade.
My stardust melody
The memory of our love and moments together will forever be my stardust melody.
The memory of love's refrain
The memories of our love story that will forever echo in my heart.
Lyrics © Roba Music Verlag GMBH, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, O/B/O DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust Ave, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Mitchell Parish, Hoagy Carmichael
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@spillteatv9417
And now the purple dusk of twilight time
Steals across the meadows of my heart
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Always reminding me that we're apart
You wander down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
The lonely nights
Dreaming of a song
The melody
Haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
You are in my arms
The nightingale
Tells his fairytale
Of paradise, where roses grew
Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain
@jesusurrutia3809
This song immortalized you Ray Liotta, Rest in Peace. 🕴🌆

@bettypotter6226
Absolutely. Love him in this scene.
@bettypotter6226
I loved Ray Liotta in the gray suit airport scene. This song makes it soo sexy. Love you Ray. Rest In Peace good man.
@wvcricker5683
Then you had Jimmy Two Times who said “I gotta get the papers, get the papers”….
@GrummanTestPilot
@@wvcricker5683god tier comment
@beselbic
Scorsese sure knows how to pick some great classic tunes for his films.
@purkasz
Not him. Robbie Robertson of the Band is his music director
@williammontgomery4045
0
@nancyhicksgribble9799
Actually Martin did choose them. On the original book he got from Pileggi, Martin scribbled the music that was popping up in his head as he read the book.
@FunnyVideoMaker77
Except in The Irishman when he played that one song over and over