Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino Jr.
(February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017) was an American pianist and
singer-songwriter of Louisiana Creole descent. One of the pioneers of rock and
roll music, Domino
sold more than 65 million records. Between 1955 and 1960, he had
eleven Top 10 hits. His humility and shyness may be one reason his contribution
to the genre has been overlooked.
During his career, Domino had 35 records in theU.S.
Domino in 1962
Domino was signed to the Imperial Records label in 1949 by owner Lew Chudd, to be paid royalties based on sales instead of a fee for each song. He and producer Dave Bartholomew wrote "The Fat Man", a toned down version of a song about drug addicts called "Junkers Blues"; the record had sold a million copies by 1951. Featuring a rolling piano and Domino vocalizing "wah-wah" over a strong backbeat, "The Fat Man" is widely considered the first rock-and-roll record to achieve this level of sales. In 2015, the song would enter the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Domino released a series of hit songs with Bartholomew (also the co-writer of many of the songs), the saxophonists Herbert Hardesty andAlvin
Domino crossed into the pop mainstream with "Ain't That a Shame" (mislabeled as "Ain't It a Shame") which reached the Top Ten. This was the first of his records to appear on the Billboard pop singles chart (on July 16, 1955), with the debut at number 14. A milder cover version by Pat Boone reached number 1, having received wider radio airplay in an era of racial segregation. In 1955, Domino was said to be earning $10,000 a week while touring, according to a report in the memoir of artist Chuck Berry. Domino eventually had 37 Top 40 singles, but none made it to number 1 on the Pop chart.
Domino's debut album, Carry On Rockin, which contained several of his hits and tracks that had not yet been released as singles, was issued on the Imperial label (catalogue number 9009) in November 1955, and was reissued as Rock and Rollin' with Fats Domino in 1956. The reissue reached number 17 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
His 1956 recording of "Blueberry Hill", a 1940 song by Vincent Rose, Al Lewis and Larry Stock (which had previously been recorded by Gene Autry, Louis Armstrong and others), reached number 2 on the Billboard Juke Box chart for two weeks and was number 1 on the R&B chart for 11 weeks. It was his biggest hit, selling more than 5 million copies worldwide in 1956 and 1957. The song was subsequently recorded by Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Led Zeppelin. Some 32 years later, the song would enter the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Domino had further hit singles between 1956 and 1959, including "When My Dreamboat Comes Home" (Pop number 14), "I'm Walkin'" (Pop number 4), "Valley of Tears" (Pop number 8), "It's You I Love" (Pop number 6), "Whole Lotta Loving" (Pop number 6), "I Want to Walk You Home" (Pop number 8), and "Be My Guest" (Pop number 8).
Domino appeared in two films released in 1956: Shake, Rattle & Rock! and The Girl Can't Help It. On December 18, 1957, his hit recording of "The Big Beat" was featured on Dick Clark's American Bandstand.
On November 2, 1956, a riot broke out at a Domino concert inFayetteville ,
North Carolina
In the same year, the article "King of Rock ’n’ Roll" in Ebony (magazine) featured Domino who said he was on the road 340 days a year, up to $2,500 per evening, and grossing over $500,000; Domino also told readers that he owned 50 suits, 100 pairs of shoes and a $1,500 diamond horseshoe stick pin.
Domino had a steady series of hits for Imperial through early 1962, including "Walking' toNew Orleans Europe
in 1962 and met the Beatles who would later cite Domino as an inspiration.
After returning, he played the first of his many stands in Las Vegas
Imperial Records was sold in early 1963, and Domino left the label. "I stuck with them until they sold out," he said in 1979. In all, he recorded over 60 singles for Imperial, placing 40 songs in the top 10 on the R&B chart and 11 in the top 10 on the Pop chart. Twenty-seven of which were double-sided hits.
Domino was one of the biggest stars of rock and roll in the 1950s and one of the first R&B artists to gain popularity with white audiences. His biographer Rick Coleman argues that Domino's records and tours with rock-and-roll shows in that decade, bringing together black and white youths in a shared appreciation of his music, was a factor in the breakdown of racial segregation in the United States. The artist himself did not define his work as rock and roll, saying, "It wasn't anything but the same rhythm and blues I'd been playin' down inNew Orleans
Domino was also an important influence on the music of the 1960s and 1970s and was acknowledged as such by some of the top artists of that era. Elvis Presley introduced Fats at one of hisLas Vegas
Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney recorded Domino songs. According to some reports, McCartney wrote the Beatles song "Lady Madonna" in emulation of Domino's style, combining it with a nod to Humphrey Lyttelton's 1956 hit "Bad Penny Blues". Domino also recorded the song in 1968. Domino returned to the "Hot 100" chart for the last time in 1968, with his recording of "Lady Madonna". That recording, as well as covers of two other songs by the Beatles, appeared on his Reprise album Fats Is Back, produced by Richard Perry and with several hits recorded by a band that included theNew Orleans
Domino was present in the audience of 2,200 people at Elvis Presley's first concert at the Las Vegas Hilton on July 31, 1969. At a press conference after the show, when a journalist referred to Presley as "The King", Presley gestured toward Domino, who was taking in the scene. "No," Presley said, "that's the real king of rock and roll."
John Lennon covered Domino's composition "Ain't That a Shame" on his 1975 album "Rock 'n' Roll," his tribute to the musicians who had influenced him.
American band Cheap Trick recorded "Ain't That a Shame" on their 1978 live album Cheap Trick at Budokan and released it as the second single from the album. It reached 35 of the Billboard Hot 100. Reportedly, this was Domino's favorite cover.. It remains a staple of their live performances, including at their 25th Anniversary concert (which was recorded as the album and DVD Silver) and at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
The Jamaican reggae artist Yellowman covered many songs by Domino, including "Be My Guest" and "Blueberry Hill."
Richard Hell, an early innovater of punk rock, covered Domino's "I Lived My Life" with his band, the Voidoids. Jah Wobble, a post-punk bassist best known for his work with Johnny Rotten, released a solo recording of "Blueberry Hill".
The Jamaican ska band Justin Hinds and the Dominoes, formed in the 1960s, was named after Domino, Hinds's favorite singer.
In 2007, various artists came together for a tribute to Domino, recording a live session containing only his songs. Musicians performing on the album, Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino, included Paul McCartney, Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and Elton John.
According to Richie Unterberger, writing for AllMusic, Domino was one of the most consistent artists of early rock music, the best-selling African-American rock-and-roll star of the 1950s, and the most popular singer of the "classic"New Orleans
Domino's rhythm, accentuating the offbeat, as in the song "Be My Guest", was an influence on ska music.
During his career, Domino had 35 records in the
By age 14, Domino
was performing in New Orleans New
Orleans New Orleans
Recordings for Imperial Records, 1949 to 1962
Domino was signed to the Imperial Records label in 1949 by owner Lew Chudd, to be paid royalties based on sales instead of a fee for each song. He and producer Dave Bartholomew wrote "The Fat Man", a toned down version of a song about drug addicts called "Junkers Blues"; the record had sold a million copies by 1951. Featuring a rolling piano and Domino vocalizing "wah-wah" over a strong backbeat, "The Fat Man" is widely considered the first rock-and-roll record to achieve this level of sales. In 2015, the song would enter the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Domino released a series of hit songs with Bartholomew (also the co-writer of many of the songs), the saxophonists Herbert Hardesty and
Domino crossed into the pop mainstream with "Ain't That a Shame" (mislabeled as "Ain't It a Shame") which reached the Top Ten. This was the first of his records to appear on the Billboard pop singles chart (on July 16, 1955), with the debut at number 14. A milder cover version by Pat Boone reached number 1, having received wider radio airplay in an era of racial segregation. In 1955, Domino was said to be earning $10,000 a week while touring, according to a report in the memoir of artist Chuck Berry. Domino eventually had 37 Top 40 singles, but none made it to number 1 on the Pop chart.
Domino's debut album, Carry On Rockin, which contained several of his hits and tracks that had not yet been released as singles, was issued on the Imperial label (catalogue number 9009) in November 1955, and was reissued as Rock and Rollin' with Fats Domino in 1956. The reissue reached number 17 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
His 1956 recording of "Blueberry Hill", a 1940 song by Vincent Rose, Al Lewis and Larry Stock (which had previously been recorded by Gene Autry, Louis Armstrong and others), reached number 2 on the Billboard Juke Box chart for two weeks and was number 1 on the R&B chart for 11 weeks. It was his biggest hit, selling more than 5 million copies worldwide in 1956 and 1957. The song was subsequently recorded by Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Led Zeppelin. Some 32 years later, the song would enter the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Domino had further hit singles between 1956 and 1959, including "When My Dreamboat Comes Home" (Pop number 14), "I'm Walkin'" (Pop number 4), "Valley of Tears" (Pop number 8), "It's You I Love" (Pop number 6), "Whole Lotta Loving" (Pop number 6), "I Want to Walk You Home" (Pop number 8), and "Be My Guest" (Pop number 8).
Domino appeared in two films released in 1956: Shake, Rattle & Rock! and The Girl Can't Help It. On December 18, 1957, his hit recording of "The Big Beat" was featured on Dick Clark's American Bandstand.
On November 2, 1956, a riot broke out at a Domino concert in
In the same year, the article "King of Rock ’n’ Roll" in Ebony (magazine) featured Domino who said he was on the road 340 days a year, up to $2,500 per evening, and grossing over $500,000; Domino also told readers that he owned 50 suits, 100 pairs of shoes and a $1,500 diamond horseshoe stick pin.
Domino had a steady series of hits for Imperial through early 1962, including "Walking' to
Imperial Records was sold in early 1963, and Domino left the label. "I stuck with them until they sold out," he said in 1979. In all, he recorded over 60 singles for Imperial, placing 40 songs in the top 10 on the R&B chart and 11 in the top 10 on the Pop chart. Twenty-seven of which were double-sided hits.
Death
Domino died on
October 24, 2017, at his home in Harvey ,
Louisiana
Influence and Legacy
Domino was one of the biggest stars of rock and roll in the 1950s and one of the first R&B artists to gain popularity with white audiences. His biographer Rick Coleman argues that Domino's records and tours with rock-and-roll shows in that decade, bringing together black and white youths in a shared appreciation of his music, was a factor in the breakdown of racial segregation in the United States. The artist himself did not define his work as rock and roll, saying, "It wasn't anything but the same rhythm and blues I'd been playin' down in
Domino was also an important influence on the music of the 1960s and 1970s and was acknowledged as such by some of the top artists of that era. Elvis Presley introduced Fats at one of his
Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney recorded Domino songs. According to some reports, McCartney wrote the Beatles song "Lady Madonna" in emulation of Domino's style, combining it with a nod to Humphrey Lyttelton's 1956 hit "Bad Penny Blues". Domino also recorded the song in 1968. Domino returned to the "Hot 100" chart for the last time in 1968, with his recording of "Lady Madonna". That recording, as well as covers of two other songs by the Beatles, appeared on his Reprise album Fats Is Back, produced by Richard Perry and with several hits recorded by a band that included the
Domino was present in the audience of 2,200 people at Elvis Presley's first concert at the Las Vegas Hilton on July 31, 1969. At a press conference after the show, when a journalist referred to Presley as "The King", Presley gestured toward Domino, who was taking in the scene. "No," Presley said, "that's the real king of rock and roll."
John Lennon covered Domino's composition "Ain't That a Shame" on his 1975 album "Rock 'n' Roll," his tribute to the musicians who had influenced him.
American band Cheap Trick recorded "Ain't That a Shame" on their 1978 live album Cheap Trick at Budokan and released it as the second single from the album. It reached 35 of the Billboard Hot 100. Reportedly, this was Domino's favorite cover.. It remains a staple of their live performances, including at their 25th Anniversary concert (which was recorded as the album and DVD Silver) and at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
The Jamaican reggae artist Yellowman covered many songs by Domino, including "Be My Guest" and "Blueberry Hill."
Richard Hell, an early innovater of punk rock, covered Domino's "I Lived My Life" with his band, the Voidoids. Jah Wobble, a post-punk bassist best known for his work with Johnny Rotten, released a solo recording of "Blueberry Hill".
The Jamaican ska band Justin Hinds and the Dominoes, formed in the 1960s, was named after Domino, Hinds's favorite singer.
In 2007, various artists came together for a tribute to Domino, recording a live session containing only his songs. Musicians performing on the album, Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino, included Paul McCartney, Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and Elton John.
According to Richie Unterberger, writing for AllMusic, Domino was one of the most consistent artists of early rock music, the best-selling African-American rock-and-roll star of the 1950s, and the most popular singer of the "classic"
Warm and unthreatening even by
the intensely congenial standards of New
Orleans New Orleans
Domino's rhythm, accentuating the offbeat, as in the song "Be My Guest", was an influence on ska music.
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