A popular and legendary musician acclaimed to be the amiable pioneer of rock ānā roll music has died at the age of 89.
Fats Domino, the amiable rock ānā roll pioneer whose steady, pounding piano and easy baritone helped change popular music while honoring the traditions of the Crescent City, died Tuesday. He was 89.
Mark Bone, chief investigator with the Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, coronerās office, said Domino died of natural causes at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.
In appearance, he was no Elvis Presley. He stood 5-feet-5 and weighed more than 200 pounds, with a wide, boyish smile and a haircut as flat as an album cover. But Domino sold more than 110 million records, with hits includingĀ āBlueberry Hill,ā āAināt It a ShameāĀ and other standards of rock ānā roll.
He was one of the first 10 honorees named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Rolling Stone Record Guide likened him to Benjamin Franklin, the beloved old man of a revolutionary movement.
His dynamic performance style and warm vocals drew crowds for five decades. One of his show-stopping stunts was playing the piano while standing, throwing his body against it with the beat of the music and bumping the grand piano across the stage.
Dominoās 1956 version ofĀ āBlueberry HillāĀ was selected for the Library of Congressā National Recording Registry of historic sound recordings worthy of preservation. The preservation board noted that Domino insisted on performing the song despite his producerās doubts, adding that DominoāsĀ āNew Orleans roots are evident in the Creole inflected cadences that add richness and depth to the performance.ā
Domino became a global star but stayed true to his hometown, where his fate was initially unknown after Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005. It turned out that he and his family were rescued by boat from his home, where he lost three pianos and dozens of gold and platinum records, along with other memorabilia.
Many wondered if he would ever return to the stage. Scheduled to perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 2006, he simply tipped his hat to thousands of cheering fans.
But in May 2007, he was back, performing at Tipitinaās music club in New Orleans. Fans cheered ā and some cried ā as Domino playedĀ āIām Walkinā,ā āAināt It a Shame,ā āShake, Rattle and Roll,ā āBlueberry HillāĀ and a host of other hits.
That performance was a highlight during several rough years. After losing their home and almost all their belongings to the floods, his wife of more than 50 years, Rosemary, died in April 2008.
Domino 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.
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āFats embodies everything good about New Orleans,āĀ his friend David Lind said in a 2008 interview.Ā āHeās warm, fun-loving, spiritual, creative and humble. You donāt get more New Orleans than that.ā
The son of a violin player, Antoine Domino Jr. was born on Feb. 26, 1928, to a family that grew to include nine children. As a youth, he taught himself popular piano styles ā ragtime, blues and boogie-woogie ā after his cousin left an old upright in the house. Fats Waller and Albert Ammons were early influences.
He quit school at age 14, and worked days in a factory while playing and singing in local juke joints at night. In 1949, Domino was playing at the Hideaway Club for $3 a week when he was signed by Imperial record company.
He recorded his first song,Ā āThe Fat Man,āĀ in the back of a tiny French Quarter recording studio.
āThey call me the Fat Man, because I weigh 200 pounds,āĀ he sang.Ā āAll the girls, they love me, ācause I know my way around.ā
In 1955, he broke into the white pop charts withĀ āAināt it a ShameāĀ ā but actually sang the lyrics asĀ āaināt that a shame.āĀ The song was covered blandly by Pat Boone asĀ āAināt That a ShameāĀ and rocked out years later by Cheap Trick. Domino enjoyed a parade of successes through the early 1960s, includingĀ āBe My GuestāĀ andĀ āIām Ready.ā Another hit, āIām Walkin,'āĀ became the debut single for Ricky Nelson.
Domino appeared in the rock ānā roll filmĀ āThe Girl Canāt Help ItāĀ and was among the first black performers to be featured in popular music shows, starring with Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers. He also helped bridge rock ānā roll and other styles ā even country/western, recording Hank WilliamsāĀ āJambalayaā and Bobby Charlesā āWalkinā to New Orleans.ā
Source: AP