![]() ![]() It was Bartholomew who brought Lew Chudd of Imperial Records to the Hideaway Club to hear Domino play his boogie woogie piano, and some of his specialty songs such as “Swanee River Boogie” and “Junker’s Blues.” Chudd liked what he heard and signed Domino on the spot. Bartholomew’s collaborations with, and guidance for the young Domino, would have the most profound impact on his career.īartholomew was also an arranger and bandleader, and he and Fats co-wrote and produced most of Domino’s hits. Click for '.Songbook'.Ī key partner to Fats Domino was Dave Bartholomew, a New Orleans trumpeter, songwriter, and pioneering R&B producer. Domino, meanwhile, persisted with his piano playing and soon had the help of some street-wise business musicians.ġ956: Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew at work in recording studio, a team that proved effective in turning out early R&B and rock ’n roll tunes. He also worked for a time in a bed spring factory, playing honky tonks at night.īut it was at the Hideaway Club in New Orleans where house band leader Bill Diamond gave him the nickname “Fats,” as Domino reminded him of another famous piano player, Fats Waller. His journey from a poor childhood in the semi-rural wards of New Orleans to becoming a top national rock ‘n’ roll star was not without its trials and difficulties.Īs an ice delivery man in New Orleans for a time, with bars and nightclubs among his customers, Domino would sometimes slip away to play on pianos he found at those stops. By the fourth grade he quit school in order to make piano playing his full time activity. As a young boy, he began playing on an old upright piano at home, taking lessons from relatives. was born in New Orleans in February 1928, the last of eight Domino children. Saw him when I was a young boy and loved every minute of it.January 1950 ‘Billboard’ magazine ad for Fats Domino’s first record, boasting “10,000.sold in New Orleans within 10 days” would become a million-seller hit. Singer/songwriter and fellow Louisiana native Kenny Wayne Shepherd mused, "What a great musician and entertainer. "We have lost a TRUE American treasure," Kid Rock said. "I remember listening to his music as a little boy." "He paved the way for so many," recalled LL Cool J. "Rest In Peace to the man Fats Domino!! Your music will live forever!! "We lost a Rock and Roll legend today," acknowledged Darius Rucker. We have lost an incredible music and New Orleans icon." In a statement, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said, "For a city known for its incredible, talented musicians, Fats Domino ranked among the all-time greats. "Our hearts are heavy today, but we will always remember his love for life and New Orleans through his iconic music," wrote Louisiana Gov. Steve Scalise called him a "New Orleans legend." See you on top of that blueberry hill in the sky." "You helped pave the way for New Orleans piano players. "RIP Fats Domino," wrote Harry Connick Jr. Wendell Pierce, who played a jazz musician in post-Katrina New Orleans in HBO's Treme and is from there himself, wrote, "Words fail me in this moment of deep heartache and sadness. We’re a bunch of sinners, and time is passing on.” Entertainment world mourns Fats Domino Bush visited him at home to deliver the replacement.Īs he prepared to start over in the city he still vowed never to leave, Domino told USA TODAY, “I hope it goes well with the Lord that’s what I’ve got to prepare for. You can’t find better food.”ĭomino also lost his National Medal of Arts in the hurricane. “I like that nightclubs stay open all day and all night. “There’s no place like New Orleans for me,” he told USA TODAY in 2007. Even an invitation from Bill Clinton to perform at the White House after he received a National Medal of Arts in 1998 was not enough to persuade him to leave. Later in his career, Domino vowed to give up touring and never leave New Orleans. Walking to New Orleans, Blueberry Hill and I’m Walkin ’ were just some of his more than three dozen top 40 hits.Īlthough his success on the charts declined as musical tastes shifted during the ’60s, Domino kept recording, and his music influenced the next generation of artists, including the Beatles, whose Lady Madonna echoed his style.īilly Joel inducted Domino into the Rock Hall of Fame during the first ceremony in 1986, calling him the man "who proved that the piano was a rock and roll instrument." In 1955, his song Ain’t That a Shame became a top 10 hit and was soon recorded by Pat Boone, making it a hit among teens. In 1949, Domino joined forces with trumpet player Dave Bartholomew to record his first single The Fat Man, which went on to sell a million copies, becoming one of the first rock ‘n’ roll songs to do so.ĭuring the ’50s, rock ‘n’ roll was coming into its own, and Domino was a driving force behind it. ![]()
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