Fats Domino, born Antoine Dominique, was born on 26th
February 1928 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Fats Domino is a classic R&B singer and was the best-selling
African-American singer of the 1950s and early 1960s.
Domino is a fine pianist with an individualistic bluesy
style showing stride and boogie-woogie influences. His
congenial personality and rich accent have added to his
appeal.
His career began with "The Fat Man" (1949, Imperial Records),
one of the first rock and roll records, featuring a rolling
piano and Fats doing wah-wah vocalizing. The record, a
reworking of "Junker's Blues" by Champion Jack Dupree,
was a massive hit, selling over a million copies and peaking
at #2 on the Billboard R&B Charts. Fats then released
a series of hit songs with producer and co-writer Dave
Bartholomew, saxophonist Alvin "Red" Tyler and drummer
Earl Palmer. Fats finally crossed into the pop mainstream
with "Ain't That a Shame" (1955) which hit the Top Ten,
though Pat Boone characteristically hit #1 with a cover
of the song.
Fats released an unprecedented series of 35 Top 40 singles,
including "Whole Lotta Loving", "Blue Monday", and a funky
version of the old ballad "Blueberry Hill". After he moved
to ABC-Paramount in 1963, the bottom fell out of Fats'
recording career although he continued as a popular live
act. Though he remained active for decades, he only had
one more Top 40 hit, a cover of the Beatles song "Lady
Madonna", originally written by Lennon-McCartney to emulate
Fats's style.
In the 1980s Domino decided he would no longer leave New
Orleans, as he had a comfortable income from royalties,
disliked touring, and claimed he couldn't get any food
he liked anywhere but his home town. His induction into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and an invitation to perform
at the White House failed to get Domino to make any exception
to this policy. He lives in a mansion in the mostly working-class
9th Ward neighborhood, where he is a familiar sight in
his bright pink Cadillac. He makes yearly appearances
at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and a few
other local events, where he demonstrates that his musicianship
and showmanship are undiminished.
Rock 'n' roll pioneer Fats Domino was among the thousands
of New Orleans residents plucked from rising floodwaters, his
daughter said Thursday.
Karen Domino White, who lives in New Jersey, identified her
father in a picture taken Monday night by a New Orleans Times-Picayune
photographer. The photograph shows Domino being helped off a
boat near his home in the city's Lower 9th Ward.
