Legendary Musician With Over A 110 million Records Sold, Has Died

A popular and legendary musician acclaimed to be the amiable pioneer of rock ā€˜nā€™ roll music has died at the age of 89.
Fats Domino, the amiable rock ā€˜nā€™ 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, coronerā€™s 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 ā€œBlueberry Hill,ā€ ā€Ainā€™t It a Shameā€Ā and other standards of rock ā€˜nā€™ 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.
Dominoā€™s 1956 version ofĀ ā€œBlueberry Hillā€Ā 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 producerā€™s doubts, adding that Dominoā€™sĀ ā€œNew 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 Tipitinaā€™s music club in New Orleans. Fans cheered ā€” and some cried ā€” as Domino playedĀ ā€œIā€™m Walkinā€™,ā€ ā€Ainā€™t It a Shame,ā€ ā€Shake, Rattle and Roll,ā€ ā€Blueberry Hillā€Ā 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.
Ā 
ā€œFats embodies everything good about New Orleans,ā€Ā his friend David Lind said in a 2008 interview.Ā ā€œHeā€™s warm, fun-loving, spiritual, creative and humble. You donā€™t 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 ā€œThe Fat Man,ā€Ā in the back of a tiny French Quarter recording studio.
ā€œThey call me the Fat Man, because I weigh 200 pounds,ā€Ā he sang.Ā ā€œAll the girls, they love me, ā€™cause I know my way around.ā€
In 1955, he broke into the white pop charts withĀ ā€œAinā€™t it a Shameā€Ā ā€” but actually sang the lyrics asĀ ā€œainā€™t that a shame.ā€Ā The song was covered blandly by Pat Boone asĀ ā€œAinā€™t That a Shameā€Ā and rocked out years later by Cheap Trick. Domino enjoyed a parade of successes through the early 1960s, includingĀ ā€œBe My Guestā€Ā andĀ ā€œIā€™m Ready.ā€ Another hit, ā€œIā€™m Walkin,'ā€Ā became the debut single for Ricky Nelson.
Domino appeared in the rock ā€˜nā€™ roll filmĀ ā€œThe Girl Canā€™t Help Itā€Ā 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 ā€˜nā€™ roll and other styles ā€” even country/western, recording Hank Williamsā€™Ā ā€œJambalayaā€ and Bobby Charlesā€™ ā€œWalkinā€™ to New Orleans.ā€

Source: AP