Billy Ward & the Dominoes

• Genre: '50s Rock 'n' Roll

About

With Billy Ward on piano, and various lead vocalists of exceptional talent (including Clyde McPhatter and Jackie Wilson), the Dominoes helped create rock 'n' roll. Their astutely tuned harmonics played with Ward's dynamic piano, and they could master any tempo -- from upbeat jumpin' numbers such as "60 Minute Man" (among the first song to crossover into pop charts) to ballads ("Harbor Lights"). The Dominoes epitomize the sound of early 1950s rock 'n' roll.

- Mark Murrmann