Antoine "Fats" Domino, Jr. (February 26, 1928
– October 24, 2017) was an American pianist and singer-songwriter of Louisiana
Creole descent. He had 35 records in the U.S. Billboard Top 40, and five
of his pre-1955 records sold more than a million copies, being certified
gold. During 1955 to 1960, he had eleven top 10 hits and his record sales
were reportedly surpassed only by Elvis Presley.
During his career, Domino sold over 65 million records.
His musical style was based on traditional rhythm and blues, accompanied
by saxophones, bass, piano, electric guitar, and drums. His early record,
"The Fat Man" sold one million copies by 1953; it is widely considered
the first rock-and-roll record to achieve this feat. He went on to release
a long series of hit songs with producer Dave Bartholomew (also the co-writer
of many of the songs). His most successful run was with Imperial Records
where he recorded over 60 singles, placing 40 songs in the top 10 on the
R&B chart and 11 in the top 10 on the Pop chart. Twenty-two of his
Imperial singles were double-sided hits.
Fats appeared in two films released in 1956: Shake,
Rattle & Rock! and The Girl Can't Help It.
In 1986 he was one of the first musicians to be inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He also received the Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award that year. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked
him number 25 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time."
Even after his success, he continued to live in his old
neighborhood, the Lower Ninth Ward until after Hurricane Katrina when he
moved to a suburb of New Orleans. His large home was roomy enough for his
13 children, but he still preferred to sleep in a hammock outside.
Fats Domino died on October 24, 2017, at his home in Harvey,
Louisiana, at the age of 89, from natural causes.
Fats was an early influence on our music. Back in the mid-'50s,
his were the first 78 rpm records I bought after those of Elvis. These
records still make up a treasured part of our A/V library collection. Through
the years we performed many of his songs.
It was a thrill to see him perform in Las Vegas, where
of course he did his usual finale by pushing the big grand piano into the
wings to the beat of his excellent back-up band. This was the only time
we were fortunate enough to see him perform live, although we saw him many
times on television and in film.
During one of our visits to New Orleans we made a point
of eating at the Fats Domino fried chicken fast food restauran. On our
last visit we took photos of his bronze statue on Bourbon Street in the
French Quarter. We made a point of shaking his outstretched hand, but that
was the closest we ever came to making contact with the New Orleans legend.
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