By: Billy Gee
Well, well, well! What do you know? Here we are, together again, to pay tribute to another immortal music maker of yesteryear. Did everybody manage to find a chair and get “comfy cozy?” Good! This time around, we’ll be taking a close look at the illustrious career of the incomparable Mr. Fats Domino.
Born Antoine Dominique Domino on February 26, 1928 in New Orleans, Fats often draws comparisons to Little Richard. To be sure, both were black singers from the Deep South who possessed considerable piano skills – skills that were unmistakably the product of the boogie-woogie stylings of such piano greats as George W. Thomas and Clarence Williams. Both were deeply entrenched in the R&B tradition, which subsequently led to rock ‘n’ roll stardom in the 1950s. For the most part, though, the similarities end there.
Fats quit school at fourteen to get a job as a factory worker. When the day’s work was over, he donned an entirely different suit of clothes to play in local clubs at night. One of his first gigs was with a New Orleans band led by Dave Bartholomew, a local representative for Imperial Records. Bartholomew, immediately recognizing Domino’s various talents, arranged for a recording session at the J&M studio where, five years later, Little Richard would record “Tutti Frutti.” The studio’s masterful owner/chief engineer, Cosimo Matassa, was instrumental in creating the New Orleans R&B sound; and from this initial session was born Fats Domino’s first single, “The Fat Man” (1949), considered by some music historians as the very first Rock ‘n’ Roll recording! Therein, Fats sings an entire sixteen-bar “wah wah” solo in falsetto voice, mimicking the sound of a trumpet played with a wah wah mute inserted in the bell of the instrument. (Those readers who are jazz buffs know what I’m talking about here.)
By the end of 1955, Fats had scored twelve hits on the R & B Top 10, including “Goin’ Home” (1952). His first crossover hit song was “Ain’t That a Shame” (1955), a twelve-bar blues ditty that reached the Number One spot on the R&B charts, and hit number 10 on the Pop charts. During that same year, Pat Boone’s cover version of “Ain’t That a Shame” reached the Number 1 slot on the pop charts. Other Fats Domino hits include “Blueberry Hill” (1956), “I’m Walkin’” (1957), “Whole Lotta Loving” (1958), and “I Want to Walk You Home” (1959).
By 1960, the established mainstream rock ‘n’ roll style had begun to fade, and Domino’s record sales diminished. The pop-oriented “Walking to New Orleans” proved to be less successful than his previous recordings. Though he remained a popular live act, even a 1963 transition to ABC-Paramount failed to jump-start his career, producing only one Top 40 hit, a cover of The Beatles’ “Lady Madonna” (1968). Ironically, the original version was a tribute to Fats’ inimitable piano style.
During the 80s, Fats tired of touring and vowed to remain in New Orleans, in part, he asserted, for the Cajun food he loved so well. Even an invitation to perform at the White House and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame could not persuade Mr. Domino to change his mind.
Last month, when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Fats chose to remain in his 9th Ward mansion with his wife, Rosemary, whose health condition made evacuation difficult. Thankfully, on September 1, CNN announced his rescue from atop his roof by a Coast Guard helicopter.
That just about wraps it up for this session, kids. Before you go, consider how fortunate we are to have been spared the direct affects of Mother Nature’s rampage through the Gulf Coast. (The indirect effects are yet to be calculated!) Even so, why not look into your heart, and do whatever you can to ease the pain of those who were directly affected by Katrina – and more recently Rita – just because it’s the right thing to do. Class dismissed!
Visit www.history-of-rock.com for more information on Fats Domino