For this week’s Thursday Inspiration prompt, Jim Adams has asked us to write a post using the prompt word “shame ” or “anything else that you think fits.”

She made him cry when she said goodbye. His tears fell like rain and she was to blame. Ain’t that a shame? Oh well, goodbye.

Well, that’s how Fats Domino felt when he recorded the song “Ain’t That a Shame” back in 1955. The song, co-written by Dave Bartholomew, was a hit, eventually selling a million copies. It reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 10 on the pop chart.

This was the first song to crossover from the R&B charts to the mostly white pop charts of the day. Like several other songs previously heard exclusively in black bars or nightclubs, it was covered by the crooning Pat Boone. Concerned about how educated, upper-class whites would respond to the title, he originally wanted it changed to “Isn’t That a Shame,” but the producers realized the original title would sell better and kept it.

Boone’s cover was a huge hit, going to number 1 on the U.S. Pop charts and reaching number 7 in the UK. This gave Domino’s original recording a boost and helped it cross over.

“Ain’t That a Shame” was Fats Domino’s first hit song that was not recorded in New Orleans, where the singer lived. He recorded it on March 15, 1955 in a Hollywood studio when he was on tour in Los Angeles. Imperial Records had the engineers compress Fats’ vocals and speed up the song a bit to make the song sound less bluesy and give it more mainstream appeal. This also made it more difficult for other artists to cover the song.

Here’s Fats Domino’s song:

And for you white bread fans, here’s Pat Boone’s cover:

And for you classic rock fans, give it up for Cheap Trick:

Which is your favorite