Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Artists - A to K»Artists - F
    Artists - F Music - 1950s Music - 1960s 3 Mins Read

    Fats Domino

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    He was born Antoine Domino in New Orleans in February 1928, and since his first professional appearance at the age of 14 at the celebrated Hideaway Club in New Orleans in 1942, the work of Fats Domino has been characterised and dominated by his pounding piano style and his unique vocal technique, derived from the Dixieland jazz for which New Orleans was famed.

    By the age of 22, Fats had capitalised on his unique style to make his vinyl debut – and first million-seller – with The Fat Man, although according to informed sources, difficulties in recording that single led to its unusual style; it was never actually intended that his piano and voice should be so dominant in the ensemble sound.

    fatsdomino

    Nevertheless, the single sold 800,000 copies in 1950 alone and has often been cited – along with Ike Turner’s Rocket 88 – as the first rock ‘n’ roll song.

    With the success of the single, Fats and his group (The Fats Domino Band) toured extensively through America and gained outstanding acclaim.

    His next recording session yielded Every Night About This Time, introducing the piano triplets that immediately became his unmistakable trademark. His first #1 R&B hit, 1952’s Goin’ Home, cemented the relentless percussive style into the hearts of music fans.

    Throughout the 1950s he turned out a stream of classic rock & roll hits including Blueberry Hill, Ain’t That A Shame, Poor Me, Please Leave Me and All By Myself, which between 1954 and 1959 all sold between three and five million copies.

    Domino exemplified the postwar R&B of his home city: an insistent rolling or staccato piano, infectious beat, good solid horn section, and an appealing – usually jovial – vocal part.

    All of his records had the same magic. Some were more catchy than others, and as he became more popular the beat became a little heavier. Later a string section started appearing on his records, too. But basically, his whole recording career was one long Mardi Gras Mambo.

    The 1960s saw Fats reduce his recording workload and go into semi-retirement, although he was still an extremely popular nightclub act.

    In 1963 he had a massive British and American hit with Red Sails In The Sunset. It wasn’t until 1967, though, that he first visited Britain, when Brian Epstein brought him over for some concerts in London.

    Despite criticisms that he had lost some of his originality, by 1970 his work had once again come to the fore, amid restated interest in the origins of rock & roll. In 1972 he appeared in the movie Let The Good Times Roll.

    In the 1980s, Domino decided he would no longer leave New Orleans, having a comfortable income from royalties and a dislike for touring, and claiming he could not get any food that he liked anywhere else.

    Neither his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nor an invitation to perform at the White House could persuade him to make an exception to this policy.

    Fats’ New Orleans home was devastated during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 but both he and his family survived. He released a new album, Alive and Kickin’, in early 2006.

    The piano legend died on 25 October 2017 of natural causes, aged 89.

    Related Posts

    • Tommy Roe
      Tommy Roe
      Born on 9 May 1942 in Atlanta, Georgia, Tommy Roe attended the Brown High School where he formed his first…
    • Screamin' Jay Hawkins
      Screamin' Jay Hawkins
      Jalacy J. Hawkins was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1929. He spent his early years in an orphanage before enrolling at…
    • Lonnie Donegan
      Lonnie Donegan
      Lonnie Donegan rose to international fame as one of the founding fathers of a new wave of music called Skiffle that swept…
    • Thunderbirds, The
      Thunderbirds, The
      Melbourne (Australia) band The Thunderbirds signed to Festival Records in 1959, releasing two EP's and two singles. Laurie Bell left…
    • Larry Williams
      Larry Williams
      Larry Williams, though born in New Orleans in 1935, recorded in Los Angeles for Art Rupe's Specialty label - the…
    • Dixie Cups, The
      Dixie Cups, The
      The Dixie Cups were three girls from New Orleans - sisters Rosa Lee and Barbara Ann Hawkins, and their cousin,…
    • Lloyd Price
      Lloyd Price
      By the time this raucous rocker from New Orleans was 19 he had become part of rock 'n' roll history when…
    • Loved Ones, The
      Loved Ones, The
      One of the finest and most original Australian bands of the Sixties, The Loved Ones began when a group of…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleFaron’s Flamingos
    Next Article Feather/Blackfeather

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Man From Atlantis
      1 9 7 7 – 1 9 8 3 (USA) 1 x 75 minute episode 13 x 60 […]
    • Fernwood Tonight/Fernwood 2 Night
      1 9 7 7 – 1 9 7 8 (USA) 50 x 30 minute episodes Introduced […]
    • Kids In The Kitchen
      Melbourne band Kids In The Kitchen reached #10 on the Australian […]
    • Sadie, It’s Cold Outside
      1 9 7 5 (UK) 7 x 30 minute episodes Bernard Hepton played Norman […]
    • Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, The
      1 9 8 0 – 1 9 8 2 (USA) This ABC cartoon was an extension […]
    • Ted Nugent
      In the late 1960s, Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes emerged from […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.