The world was worried about Domino during Hurricane Katrina after it was reported he and his wife were missing. The artist continued to release new and live albums throughout the 70’s and 80’s. His 1949 single, “The Fat Man” is also noted as the first rock record and he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. He was one of the early inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with “Blueberry Hill” earning placement in the Library of Congress. He was also subjected to white artists gaining popularity for singing his songs. But he cited his age and didn't make the trip to the White House to get the medal from President Clinton.Inspiring the likes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Domino was rather humble about his impact on music. In 1998, he became the first purely rock 'n' roll musician to be awarded the National Medal for the Arts. When the salesman asked if he wanted to call his bank about financing, Domino smiled and said, "I am the bank." In 1988, all of New Orleans seemed to be talking about him after he reportedly paid in cash for two Cadillacs and a $130,000 Rolls-Royce. The front double doors opened into an atrium with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and ivory dominos set in a white marble floor. "I had to stick to my own style that I've always used or it just wouldn't be me."Īntoine and Rosemary Domino raised eight children in the same ramshackle neighborhood where he grew up, but they did it in style - in a white mansion, trimmed in pink, yellow and lavender. Like many of his peers, Domino's popularity tapered off in the 1960s as British and psychedelic rock held sway.ĭomino told Ebony magazine that he stopped recording because companies wanted him to update his style. He also helped bridge rock 'n' roll and other styles - even country/western, recording Hank Williams' "Jambalaya" and Bobby Charles' "Walkin' to New Orleans." Domino enjoyed a parade of successes through the early 1960s, including "Be My Guest" and "I'm Ready." Another hit, "I'm Walkin,'" became the debut single for Ricky Nelson.ĭomino appeared in the rock 'n' roll film "The Girl Can't Help It" and was among the first black performers to be featured in popular music shows, starring with Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers. In 1955, he broke into the white pop charts with "Ain't it a Shame," covered blandly by Pat Boone as "Ain't That a Shame" and rocked out decades later by Cheap Trick. "All the girls, they love me, 'cause I know my way around." "They call me the Fat Man, because I weigh 200 pounds," he sang. He recorded his first song, "The Fat Man," in the back of a tiny French Quarter recording studio. In 1949, Domino was playing at the Hideaway Club for $3 a week when he was signed by Imperial record company. He quit school at age 14, and worked days in a factory while playing and singing in local juke joints at night. Fats Waller and Albert Ammons were early influences. As a youth, he taught himself popular piano styles - ragtime, blues and boogie-woogie - after his cousin left an old upright in the house. 26, 1928, to a family that grew to include nine children. The son of a violin player, Antoine Domino Jr. You don't get more New Orleans than that." "He's warm, fun-loving, spiritual, creative and humble. "Fats embodies everything good about New Orleans," his friend David Lind said in a 2008 interview. After losing their home and almost all their belongings to the floods, his wife of more than 50 years, Rosemary, died in April 2008.ĭomino moved to the New Orleans suburb of Harvey after the storm but would often visit his publishing house, an extension of his old home in the Lower 9th Ward, inspiring many with his determination to stay in the city he loved. That performance was a highlight during several rough years. Fans cheered - and some cried - as Domino played "I'm Walkin'," ''Ain't It a Shame," ''Shake, Rattle and Roll," ''Blueberry Hill" and a host of other hits. But in May 2007, he was back, performing at Tipitina's music club in New Orleans.
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