![]() He recorded his first song, “The Fat Man,” in the back of a tiny French Quarter recording studio. In 1949, Domino was playing at the Hideaway Club for $3 a week when he was signed by Imperial record company. He quit school at age 14, and worked days in a factory while playing and singing in local juke joints at night. Fats Waller and Albert Ammons were early influences. As a youth, he taught himself popular piano styles - ragtime, blues and boogie-woogie - after his cousin left an old upright in the house. 26, 1928, to a family that grew to include nine children. The son of a violin player, Antoine Domino Jr. You don’t get more New Orleans than that.” “He’s warm, fun-loving, spiritual, creative and humble. “Fats embodies everything good about New Orleans,” his friend David Lind said in a 2008 interview. After losing their home and almost all their belongings to the floods, his wife of more than 50 years, Rosemary, died in April 2008.ĭomino 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. That performance was a highlight during several rough years. Fans cheered - and some cried - as Domino played “I’m Walkin’,” ″Ain’t It a Shame,” ″Shake, Rattle and Roll,” ″Blueberry Hill” and a host of other hits. The preservation board noted that Domino insisted on performing the song despite his producer’s doubts, adding that Domino’s “New Orleans roots are evident in the Creole inflected cadences that add richness and depth to the performance.”īut in May 2007, he was back, performing at Tipitina’s music club in New Orleans. 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.ĭomino’s 1956 version of “Blueberry Hill” was selected for the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry of historic sound recordings worthy of preservation. His dynamic performance style and warm vocals drew crowds for five decades. ![]() 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. But Domino sold more than 110 million records, with hits including “Blueberry Hill,” ″Ain’t It a Shame” and other standards of rock ‘n’ roll. 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. That's what made him happy," said Domino Brimmer "We are hoping a lot of people come celebrate this occasion with us because it's also for them as well".Mark Bone, chief investigator with the Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, coroner’s office, said Domino died of natural causes at 3:30 a.m. "All he wanted to do with his music was bring people together and make people happy. 24, 2017, he died of natural causes at the age of 89. They're loving him back," said Domino Brimmer.ĭomino lived his whole life in New Orleans, surviving through massive flooding brought on by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and Hurricane Rita a month later. He loved New Orleans and this is showing that the people love him back. He could have lived anywhere in the country, but he wanted to stay here in New Orleans. "They love him here in the community, especially in the Lower 9 where he was born and raised. So we're just really honored that the community is acknowledging him in this way," Antoinette Domino Smith, another of Domino's daughters, told ABC News. And even when Hurricane Katrina was approaching he wouldn't leave. in front of Domino's publishing house and proceed down Antoine "Fats" Domino street to Oliver Bush Park where multiple musical guests will perform, including Domino's grandson, Antonio Domino Jr. ![]() You know, he was so humble," Domino's daughter, Andrea Domino Brimmer, told ABC News.Ī community parade led by the Stooges Brass Band will begin at 11 a.m. "He wouldn't believe that this would really be happening. A New Orleans street is being renamed in honor of music pioneer Antoine "Fats" Domino whose first record, "The Fat Man," released in 1949, was the first rock n' roll record to sell over 1 million copies.Ī celebration for the renaming is being held Saturday with Domino's family and several organizations on the former Caffin Avenue in New Orleans, the Lower 9th Ward street where Domino lived.
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