At age 16, Rebennack was hired by Johnny Vincent as a producer at Ace Records. There, he gained experience working with many artists, including James Booker, Earl King, and Jimmy Clanton. While a struggling student at Jesuit High School, he was already playing in night clubs, something the Jesuit fathers disapproved of. He formed his first band, The Dominoes, while at the school. The fathers told him to either stop playing in clubs or leave the school. Rebennack was expelled from the high school in 1954 and from then on focused entirely on music.