Domino (Van Morrison song)
Encyclopedia
"Domino" is a hit song written by Northern Irish
singer-songwriter
Van Morrison
. It is the opening track of his fourth studio album, His Band and the Street Choir
. This song is Morrison's personal musical tribute to New Orleans R&B singer and pianist Fats Domino
.
It was released by Warner Bros. Records
in October 1970 as the first of three singles from the album and reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100
charts. In 2010, "Domino" remains Morrison's highest charting single ever, surpassing Morrison's signature song
, "Brown Eyed Girl
" which had charted at number 10 in 1967.
as producer, it was recorded on three takes dating back to sessions in autumn 1968 at Warners Publishing Studio in New York City. Another eight takes of the song were recorded during several sessions in 1969 at the same studio and again with Merenstein as producer. The version released on His Band and the Street Choir
was recorded in spring 1970 at A&R Recording Studios in New York City with Elliott Scheiner as engineer. Music journalist Erik Hage
writes that one of the reasons for not releasing it until 1970 may have been that Morrison believed it could be a hit single and held it back to avoid it falling under the year long single clause in his contract release with Web IV. This release stated that the music publishing company would be entitled to one half of the copyright to any single released by Morrison in the year between September 1968 and September 1969. Morrison had received some high profile promotion when he appeared on a cover of Rolling Stone
and was interviewed by Happy Traum
in July 1970. As related by Morrison, he was subsequently encouraged by Warner Bros. to release radio-friendly singles: "The record company was asking me for singles, so I made some like "Domino", which was actually longer but got cut down." In fulfilling Warner's desire for a hit song, Hage wrote that the "bright, tight, and groovy "Domino" fits the bill. The lyrics hit on a frequent Morrison theme, renewal, ('I think it's time for a change'), and the vocal dynamics, punctuated by 'Lord have mercy' nod to gospel and James Brown (who pulled heavily from gospel himself)."
, writing in the Village Voice in 1971, described "Domino" as one of the "superb examples of Morrison's loose, allusive white r&b."
Biographer Brian Hinton
described it as "a punchy affair, with words that mean little, though threatening the whole feelgood thrust of the album... The music is something else again, toughly joyful, with an early Van hymn of praise to the radio..."
In a 1996 review, Thomas Ryan called the song "a riff-heavy and remarkably contagious example of Van Morrison's desire to pay tribute to his well of inspiration. Melodically and structurally, the song is purely his own, with horn charts and a syncopated riff that keep it continually exhilarating."
simultaneous broadcast that consisted of one of Morrison's July 1973 performances at the Rainbow Theatre, London. In 1977, Morrison performed the song on The Midnight Special
.
included the song as one of his eight Desert Island Discs
on BBC Radio 4
on July 5, 2009. "Domino" was listed at #197 in Dave Marsh
's 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.
and in 2007 on Still on Top - The Greatest Hits
. It was one of the tunes included on the 2003 (10 CD) set Ultimate Seventies Collection by Time-Life
.A performance of the song is included on Morrison's 1974 double live album It's Too Late to Stop Now
. This version of the song is also included on Van Morrison's 2007 compilation album Van Morrison at the Movies - Soundtrack Hits
, as featured in the movie Clean and Sober
.
covered the song on his 1971 album, Different Drummer. In 1997, The Buckinghams
covered it on Places in Five.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
. It is the opening track of his fourth studio album, His Band and the Street Choir
His Band and the Street Choir
His Band and the Street Choir is the fourth solo album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on 15 November 1970 by Warner Bros. Records. Originally titled Virgo's Fool, Street Choir was renamed by Warner Bros. without Morrison's consent...
. This song is Morrison's personal musical tribute to New Orleans R&B singer and pianist Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
.
It was released by Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
in October 1970 as the first of three singles from the album and reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
charts. In 2010, "Domino" remains Morrison's highest charting single ever, surpassing Morrison's signature song
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
, "Brown Eyed Girl
Brown Eyed Girl
"Brown Eyed Girl" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. Written and recorded in 1967 by Van Morrison and produced by Bang Records chief Bert Berns, it was first released in May 1967 on the album Blowin' Your Mind!. When released as a single, it rose to number eight on the...
" which had charted at number 10 in 1967.
Recording and composition
Morrison had written the song several years before it was released in 1970. With Lewis MerensteinLewis Merenstein
Lewis Merenstein is most famous as the record producer for the Van Morrison album, Astral Weeks, and as executive producer for Moondance, Morrison's 1970 album.Astral Weeks is listed as #19 on the Rolling Stone Magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003...
as producer, it was recorded on three takes dating back to sessions in autumn 1968 at Warners Publishing Studio in New York City. Another eight takes of the song were recorded during several sessions in 1969 at the same studio and again with Merenstein as producer. The version released on His Band and the Street Choir
His Band and the Street Choir
His Band and the Street Choir is the fourth solo album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on 15 November 1970 by Warner Bros. Records. Originally titled Virgo's Fool, Street Choir was renamed by Warner Bros. without Morrison's consent...
was recorded in spring 1970 at A&R Recording Studios in New York City with Elliott Scheiner as engineer. Music journalist Erik Hage
Erik Hage
Erik Hage is an American writer, cultural reporter, and critic raised in Boston and New York State. His books include the critical biography The Words and Music of Van Morrison and the work of literary criticism Cormac McCarthy: A Literary Companion , which was deemed "indispensable," "engaging,"...
writes that one of the reasons for not releasing it until 1970 may have been that Morrison believed it could be a hit single and held it back to avoid it falling under the year long single clause in his contract release with Web IV. This release stated that the music publishing company would be entitled to one half of the copyright to any single released by Morrison in the year between September 1968 and September 1969. Morrison had received some high profile promotion when he appeared on a cover of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
and was interviewed by Happy Traum
Happy Traum
Happy Traum is an American folk musician who started playing music in the Fifties. Happy is most famously known as one half of Happy and Artie Traum, a duo he began with his brother...
in July 1970. As related by Morrison, he was subsequently encouraged by Warner Bros. to release radio-friendly singles: "The record company was asking me for singles, so I made some like "Domino", which was actually longer but got cut down." In fulfilling Warner's desire for a hit song, Hage wrote that the "bright, tight, and groovy "Domino" fits the bill. The lyrics hit on a frequent Morrison theme, renewal, ('I think it's time for a change'), and the vocal dynamics, punctuated by 'Lord have mercy' nod to gospel and James Brown (who pulled heavily from gospel himself)."
Response
Robert ChristgauRobert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
, writing in the Village Voice in 1971, described "Domino" as one of the "superb examples of Morrison's loose, allusive white r&b."
Biographer Brian Hinton
Brian Hinton
Brian Hinton, MBE is an English poet and musicologist. In June 2006 he was honoured in H. M. the Queen’s Birthday Honours List with an MBE for services to the Arts.-Education:...
described it as "a punchy affair, with words that mean little, though threatening the whole feelgood thrust of the album... The music is something else again, toughly joyful, with an early Van hymn of praise to the radio..."
In a 1996 review, Thomas Ryan called the song "a riff-heavy and remarkably contagious example of Van Morrison's desire to pay tribute to his well of inspiration. Melodically and structurally, the song is purely his own, with horn charts and a syncopated riff that keep it continually exhilarating."
Live performances
"Domino" was performed during the 1974 BBC 2 and Radio 2BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
simultaneous broadcast that consisted of one of Morrison's July 1973 performances at the Rainbow Theatre, London. In 1977, Morrison performed the song on The Midnight Special
The Midnight Special (TV series)
The Midnight Special is an American musical variety series that aired on NBC during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Burt Sugarman. It premiered as a special on August 19, 1972, then began its run as a regular series on February 2, 1973; its last episode was on May 1, 1981...
.
In the media
Morrison's former manager Harvey GoldsmithHarvey Goldsmith
Harvey Goldsmith CBE is a British performing arts promoter. He is best known as promoter of rock concerts, charity concerts, television broadcasts for the Prince's Trust and more recently the Teenage Cancer Trust shows at the Royal Albert Hall.During early 2007 he appeared on the Channel 4...
included the song as one of his eight Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme first broadcast on 29 January 1942. It is the second longest-running radio programme , and is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio...
on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
on July 5, 2009. "Domino" was listed at #197 in Dave Marsh
Dave Marsh
Dave Marsh is an American music critic, author, editor and radio talk show host. He was a formative editor of Creem magazine, has written for various publications such as Newsday, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, and has published numerous books about music and musicians, mostly focused on...
's 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.
Other releases
The original recording of the song was re-released in 1990 on The Best of Van MorrisonThe Best of Van Morrison
The Best of Van Morrison is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1990 ....
and in 2007 on Still on Top - The Greatest Hits
Still on Top - The Greatest Hits
Still on Top – The Greatest Hits is the third compilation album to be issued by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison in 2007 . It was released...
. It was one of the tunes included on the 2003 (10 CD) set Ultimate Seventies Collection by Time-Life
Time-Life
Time–Life is a creator and direct marketer of books, music, video/DVD, and multimedia products. Its products are sold throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia through television, print, retail, the Internet, telemarketing, and direct sales....
.A performance of the song is included on Morrison's 1974 double live album It's Too Late to Stop Now
It's Too Late to Stop Now
It's Too Late to Stop Now is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1974 . Frequently named as one of the best live albums ever recorded, It's Too Late to Stop Now was recorded during what has often been said to be Morrison's greatest phase as a live...
. This version of the song is also included on Van Morrison's 2007 compilation album Van Morrison at the Movies - Soundtrack Hits
Van Morrison at the Movies - Soundtrack Hits
Van Morrison at the Movies – Soundtrack Hits is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 2007 comprising 19 songs as featured in various movies. The album was released on 12 February 2007 in the United Kingdom and February 13, 2007 in the United States. ...
, as featured in the movie Clean and Sober
Clean and Sober
Clean and Sober is a 1988 American drama film directed by Glenn Gordon Caron starring Michael Keaton as a real estate agent and his trouble with substance abuse. This film was a dramatic departure from comedies for Keaton. The cast also includes Kathy Baker, M...
.
Cover versions
Buddy RichBuddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
covered the song on his 1971 album, Different Drummer. In 1997, The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams are an American Sunshine Pop band from Chicago, Illinois. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top selling acts of 1967. The band dissolved in 1970 but reformed in 1980 and continue to tour throughout the United States....
covered it on Places in Five.
Personnel
- Van Morrison - vocalSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
s, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Alan Hand - pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- Keith Johnson - trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- John Klingberg - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- John PlataniaJohn PlataniaJohn Platania is a well-known session musician, guitar player, and record producer.Platania was born in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley, in Ulster County, near Woodstock....
- electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Jack SchroerJack SchroerJohn Henry "Jack" Schroer was a saxophonist, pianist and arranger best known for his work with Van Morrison in the 1970s as a member of his band The Caledonia Soul Orchestra....
- altoAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
and baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
s - Dahaud Shaar (David Shaw) - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
Charts
| Chart (1971) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Pop Singles | 9 |