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Billy Ward's Dominoes, based in Harlem, broke with the orthodox style of
Ravens and Orioles, and pioneered the style of soul with Sixty Minute Man (1951),
a song of sexual innuendos delivered by the bass voice, and one of the first
songs to use the expression "rock'n'roll",
Have Mercy Baby (1952),
These Foolish Things Remind Me of You (1952),
Money Honey (1953) and The Bells (1953),
besides launching the careers of Clyde McPhatter and then Jackie Wilson.
Detroit-born
Jackie Wilson, perhaps the greatest virtuoso vocalist of the era,
benefited from three Barry Gordy compositions,
Reet Petite (1957), To Be Loved (1958) and Lonely Teardrops (1958),
lavishly arranged melodramatic ballads exuding his sexual charisma.
He displayed his skills in
the operatic Night (1960, from a Saint Saens' aria) and
Alone At Last (1960, from a Tchaikovsky's theme),
in the bluesy Doggin' Around (1960), with honky-tonk piano, and
A Woman A Lover A Friend (1960),
in I Just Can't Help It,
in the gospel-swing Baby Workout (1963),
in Danny Boy (1965),
in Van McCoy's I Get The Sweetest Feeling (1968),
the overcharged So Much,
Shake Shake Shake
and Yeah Yeah Yeah,
and finally
Carl Davis' Higher And Higher (1967).
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Jackie Wilson, di Detroit, il sostituto di McPhatter nei Dominoes,
divenne celebre nel 1958 con una canzone, Lonely Teardrops, scritta dall'
amico Barry Gordy, e in seguito si apri` la strada con uno show atletico e
un carisma sessuale alla Brown, anche se su disco registrava soltanto
canzoni melodrammatiche come Night (1960) e Baby Workout (1963),
fino all'ultimo successo, scritto per lui da Carl Davis, Higher
And Higher (1967).
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