Antoine
“Fats” Domino Jr., rock and roll pioneer, died at the age of 89 on
October 24, 2017, of natural causes. He was born in New Orleans, LA on February
26, 1928. His father was a well known violinist and Fats learned to play the
piano at an early age. At 19, he joined the Solid Senders, a band led by Billy
Diamond, who gave him the nickname “Fats”.
During the early years of his
career, he had at least five hit records which sold over a million copies, and ultimately
he had 35 songs on the U.S. Billboard Top 40 list. “Ain’t That a Shame” (1955)
crossed over onto the pop charts, and was covered by other artists. He in turn
covered “Blueberry Hill” (1956), which reached no. 1 on the R&B charts. It
sold over 5 million copies worldwide. Over the course of his career, he sold
more than 110 million records.
In the 1980s, Fats declared his
dislike for touring, stating that he could not get any food that he liked
anywhere else other than Louisiana. He lost everything he owned during
Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and was temporarily housed in Baton Rouge and in
Harvey, LA while his home was being restored.
Fats was inducted into the Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, one of the first musicians inducted. He was
awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. In 1998, he was awarded the
National Medal of Arts. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him on its list
of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. January 12, 2007 was declared the
"Fats Domino Day” in New Orleans. Fats was awarded the Offbeat Magazine
Lifetime Achievement Award, also in 2007. He was inducted into the
Louisiana Music Hall of Fame and into the Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame. His
Medal of Arts was replaced after Katrina, as well as his lost gold records.
While visiting New Orleans in 2015,
I went to the Louisiana State Museum (formerly the Presbytère) across from
Jackson Square, wherein one of Domino’s personal pianos was housed.
In this instance, the word “legend”
doesn’t quite cover it.
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