Today the ARChive of Contemporary Music salutes the great Rock’n’Roll singer and pianist from New Orleans Fats Domino, who has just passed away.
In our window is one of his albums, Million Sellers by Fats. Fats did, indeed, sell millions and millions of records during the Fifties—over 65 million by many estimates, second only to Elvis Presley. His records were played, and played hard! It is very difficult to find his records in good shape. As you can see by the cover we have placed in the window, this particular album was so loved that a previous owner put her name on it.
Here at the ARChive, we have a stack of Fats Domino albums about ten inches tall; not all of them, but many. We also have about six inches of 45s, but only five 78s.
To know Fats Domino, you must listen to him. Dig some sounds here:
His first record:
His biggest and best known:
Another BIG one:
“Ain’t It a Shame” (AKA “Ain’t That a Shame”)
Some cool ones:
“I’m Gonna Be a Wheel Someday”
A cover of The Beatles, as influenced by Fats Domino!!
Fats Domino is considered so important to the development of American music that he was one of the first ten artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
There’s a fine biography written by Rick Coleman.
Suggested reading: a very comprehensive overview of his life and work in the obituary posted on the New Orleans Times-Picayune website.