He had continued to have hits after the initial wave of rock’n’roll wave had crashed – Walking to New Orleans and My Girl Josephine among them. Ironically, by the time the Beatles appeared, Domino’s star had fallen. Photograph: Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images Ain’t That a Shame was the first song John Lennon learned to play, Paul McCartney’s Lady Madonna was created in Domino’s image, the band visited Domino to pay homage and were impressed by his love of what would later be called bling – boggling at a jewel-encrusted watch on his wrist.įats Domino performing in 1993. But his influence proved vast, not least on the Beatles. Those singles included Ain’t That a Shame, I’m Walkin’, Blue Monday, I’m in Love Again, and Blueberry Hill, the latter a cover of a 40s jazz standard previously recorded by Glenn Miller that became Domino’s signature song.ĭomino was not a wild musical insurrectionist in the style of Little Richard or Jerry Lee Lewis – when a riot broke out at a gig in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he climbed out of a window to get away. His debut album was swiftly retitled Rock and Rollin’ With Fats Domino, he appeared in the exploitation movies The Girl Can’t Help It and Shake Rattle and Rock, and released a peerless run of singles, all deeply rooted in the jazz and R&B of New Orleans, but sufficiently in tune with new musical developments to make not only the R&B charts but the US Hot 100, too – a not-inconsiderable feat for a black artist in 50s America. Clearly sensing which way the wind was blowing, and the fact that he might have unwittingly predicted its change of course, Domino skilfully transitioned into a rock’n’roller. Nevertheless, The Fat Man’s stripped-back potency had something of the future about it: it fitted so well with rock’n’roll that it turned up six years after it was recorded on Domino’s debut album, Carry on Rockin’ With Fats Domino.īy then, Elvis Presley had signed to a major label and Little Richard’s Tutti Frutti was in the charts. In later years, Elvis Presley proclaimed him “the real king of rock’n’roll”, but in truth, Domino was an exemplar of boogie-woogie, a style that had been big since the 1920s – some musical historians claim its roots stretch back into the 19th century – that he had been taught by his brother-in-law, a jazz musician. A pounding, unchanging backbeat and an insistent bass pulse Domino on piano, playing in a style noticeably more aggressively than that of his peers saxes and guitar buried so deep in the mix that you barely even spot them until the song’s finale some falsetto scat singing and three verses that replace Junkers’ Blues’ references to cocaine, reefers and heroin with lyrics that laud both Domino’s bulk and his irresistible sexual abilities: “I weigh two hundred pounds, all the girls love me, because I know my way around.” It sold a million copies and transformed Domino overnight from the pianist in Billy Diamond’s Solid Senders, a locally popular New Orleans band, into a star. Based on Junkers’ Blues, a 1940 track originally recorded by Champion Jack Dupree, there’s almost nothing to it.
Nationally charted hits are shown in bold.But Fats Domino’s 1949 single The Fat Man has a stronger claim than most. Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (2 CD) (Various artists) His musical style was based on traditional rhythm and blues, accompanied by saxophones, bass, piano, electric guitar, and drums. He was a regular on Global Charts, from 1950 toġ965. Billboard Top 40, and five of his pre-1955 records sold more than a million copies, being certified gold. ĭuring his career, Domino had 35 records in the U.S. His humility and shyness may be one reason his contribution to the genre has been overlooked. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017) was an American pianist and singer-songwriter. ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Īntoine " Fats" Domino Jr. JSTOR ( June 2019) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: "Fats Domino discography" – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.
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