Fats is back with a 'big bang'
in New orleans
Fats Domino was born in a music family in New Orleans. He is a pianist,
songwriter, and singer who became one of the most popular and influential
personalities in the history of rhythm and blues and rock music. Domino's
music is a cheerful combination of jazz, blues, and gospel. He blended these
elements into a fresh style that led to a remarkable string of hit recordings
during the 1950's. He began performing for change in local honky-tonks and
took odd jobs to make ends meet, but he eventually fell into a permanent
position at the Hideaway Club. In the same year he met Dave Bartholomew,
who became his longtime producer, bandleader and collaborator. The two worked
very well together and Fats went on to sell 65 million records. He made
such hit's as "Ain't That a Shame," "Blueberry Hill," "I'm Walkin'," "Blue
Monday" and "Walking to New Orleans". Fats' has become an American classic
and a rock and roll hall of famer. This man will always be one of the rock
n' roll greats of our century. He signed a contract with Imperial in 1949
and at his first recording session he made sure that he recorded the traditional
Hey La Bas. "La Bas" was originally a voodoo god of luck, was identified
with St. Peter in French-Catholic Louisiana and finally became La Bas. The
record indicated a coming together of many years of New Orleans history
and musical influence. It was not, however, his first record to be released.
A song about drugs called The Fat Man was cleaned up a bit for his first
commercial release, and it reached the R&B chart in 1950. Acccording to
some reports, the song was a million seller. The Fat Man also became a nickname
for Fats Domino. Another song that made the R&B chart for him, Every Night
About This Time, used a piano triplet for which Fats was to become famous.
It showed how his music had been influenced by that of Little Willie Littlefield.
Fats had another R&B hit with Goin' Home in 1952. |
