It Was a Shame

I suppose it was around 1952 and 1953, when I first stumbled onto the understanding of some pop music business shenanigans. Those dishonest maneuvering white guys fellas in the music recording-business. Here's my awareness moment: At age thirteen, I began seeking some R & B and straight Blues sounds on my radio. Whereas most of the local music stations played the more traditional teen music, I enjoyed the more earthy tones of the Black vocalists.

Listening to a Black owned music stations out of St.. Louis, I soon discovered that many 'Top 40 Hits' played on my White traditional radio stations, I had heard first on the Black radio stations. I discovered that many of the Black singers could not get their 'stuff' played of the bigger market White stations. Therefore, the Black written and Black recorded music could be easy pickin' for White singers. Take this scenario: Fats Domino would record 'Ain't That a Shame' but Pat Boone would come along and record the same song and have it become a big money-making hit. This happened to Little Richard when Boone took Richard's song 'Tutti Frutti' and made it a big hit.

Now, it would be easy to say bad things about Pat Boone about this but I won't. Boone wasn't the crook in this scam...the crooks were the record companies. You see, those fellas took advantage of the Black artists ignorance about 'copyright laws' and offered a meager amount of money to 'buy' the music from artists and have them sign away royalty claims on future sales. It's kinda like the deals early American white settlers made with Native Americans.

Let me tell you how goofy Pat Boone was back then. Before he agreed to re-record Fats Domino's  'Ain't That a Shame,' the weenie asked the recording executives if they could re-write the lyrics calling the song, "Isn't That A Shame." If you gave me free tickets today to a Pat Boone Concert they'd go unused.

Boone was not the only white artist that understood the ripe field of black music being barred from 'Whites Only Stations' in the large markets. Big Joe Turner's 'Shake Rattle & Roll' was snatched up by Bill Haley & The Comets. Of course, Joe's version is down right nasty! Even the King himself, Elvis took advantage....Well instead of explaining the 'Hound Dog' story, let me remind you that Elvis recorded Hound Dog in 1956..three years after Willie Mae 'Big Mama'' Thornton recorded 'Hound.'

Hit 'Play' and the link for 'Big Mama's' version.
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