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b. Antoine Domino, 26 February 1928, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. From a large family, Domino learned piano from local musician Harrison Verrett who was also his brother-in-law. A factory worker after leaving school, Domino played in local clubs such as the Hideaway. It was there in 1949 that band leader Dave Bartholomew and Lew Chudd of Imperial Records heard him. His first recording, "The Fat Man", became a Top 10 R&B hit the next year and launched his unique partnership with Bartholomew who co-wrote and arranged dozens of Domino tracks over the next two decades. As With Professor Longhair, Domino's playing was derived from the rich mixture of musical styles to be found in New Orleans. These included traditional jazz, Latin rhythms, boogie-woogie, Cajun and blues. Domino's personal synthesis of these influences involved lazy, rich vocals supported by rolling piano rhythms. On occasion his relaxed approach was at odds with the urgency of other R&B and rock artists and the Imperial engineers would frequently speed up the tapes before Domino's singles were released. During the early 50s, Domino gradually became one of the most successful R&B artists in America. Songs such as "Goin' Home" and "Going To The River", "Please Don't Leave Me" and "Don't You Know" were bestsellers and he also toured throughout the country. The touring group included the nucleus of the band assembled by Dave Bartholomew for recordings at Cosimo Matassa's studio. Among the musicians were Lee Allen (saxophone), Frank Field (bass) and Walter "Papoose" Nelson (guitar).
By 1955, rock 'n' roll had arrived and young white audiences were ready for Domino's music. His first pop success came with "Ain't That A Shame" in 1955, although Pat Boone's cover version sold more copies. "Bo Weevil" was also covered, by Teresa Brewer, but the catchy "I'm In Love Again", with its incisive saxophone phrases from Allen, took Domino into the pop Top 10. The b-side was an up-tempo treatment of the 20s standard, "My Blue Heaven", which Verrett had sung with Papa Celestin's New Orleans jazz band. Domino's next big success also came with a pre-rock 'n' roll song, "Blueberry Hill". Inspired by Louis Armstrong's 1949 version, Domino used his Creole drawl to perfection. Altogether, Fats Domino had nearly 20 US Top 20 singles between 1955 and 1960. Among the last of them was the majestic "Walking To New Orleans", a Bobby Charles composition that became a string-laden tribute to the sources of his musical inspiration. His track record in the Billboard R&B lists, however, is impressive, with 63 records reaching the charts.
Domino continued to record prolifically for Imperial until 1963, maintaining a consistently high level of performance. There were original compositions such as the jumping "My Girl Josephine" and "Let the Four Winds Blow" and cover versions of country songs (Hank Williams' "Jambalaya (On The Bayou)") as well as standard ballads such as "Red Sails In The Sunset", his final hit single in 1963. The complex off-beat of "Be My Guest" was a clear precursor of the ska rhythms of Jamaica, where Domino was popular and toured in 1961. The only unimpressive moments came when he was persuaded to jump on the twist bandwagon, recording a banal number titled "Dance With Mr Domino". By now, Lew Chudd had sold the Imperial company and Domino switched labels to ABC Paramount. There he recorded several albums with producers Felton Jarvis and Bill Justis, but his continuing importance lay in his tours of North America and Europe, which recreated the sound of the 50s for new generations of listeners. The quality of Domino's touring band was well captured on a 1965 live album for Mercury Records from Las Vegas with Roy Montrell (guitar), Cornelius Coleman (drums) and the saxophones of Herb Hardesty and Lee Allen. Domino continued this pattern of work into the 70s, breaking it slightly when he gave the Beatles' "Lady Madonna" a New Orleans treatment. He made further albums for Reprise Records (1968) and Sonet Records (1979), the Reprise sides being the results of a reunion session with Dave Bartholomew.
Official recognition of Domino's contribution to popular music came in the late 80s. In 1986 he was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and won Hall Of Fame and Lifetime Achievement awards at the 1987 Grammy's. In 1991 EMI Records, which now owned the Imperial catalogue, released a scholarly box set of Domino's remarkable recordings. Two years later, Domino was back in the studio recording his first sessions proper for 25 years, resulting in his Christmas Is A Special Day set. "People don't know what they've done for me", he reflected. "They always tell me, 'Oh Fats, thanks for so many years of good music'. And I'll be thankin' them before they're finished thankin' me!" He remains a giant figure of R&B and rock 'n' roll, both musically and physically.
DISCOGRAPHY: Carry On Rockin' (Imperial 1955)****, Rock And Rollin' With Fats (Imperial 1956)****, Rock And Rollin' (Imperial 1956)****, This Is Fats Domino! (Imperial 1957)****, Here Stands Fats Domino (Imperial 1958)****, Fabulous Mr D (Imperial 1958)****, Let's Play Fats Domino (Imperial 1959)****, Fats Domino Swings (Imperial 1959)*****, Million Record Hits (Imperial 1960)****, A Lot Of Dominos (Imperial 1960)****, I Miss You So (Imperial 1961)***, Let The Four Winds Blow (Imperial 1961)****, What A Party (Imperial 1962)***, Twistin' The Stomp (Imperial 1962)***, Just Domino (Imperial 1962)***, Here Comes Fats Domino (ABC-Paramount 1963)***, Walkin' To New Orleans (Imperial 1963)****, Let's Dance With Domino (Imperial 1963)***, Here He Comes Again (Imperial 1963)***, Fats On Fire (ABC 1964)***, Fats Domino '65 (Mercury 1965)***, Getaway With Fats Domino (ABC 1965)***, Fats Is Back (Reprise 1968)***, Cookin' With Fats (United Artists 1974)***, Sleeping On The Job (Sonet 1979)**, Live At Montreux (Atlantic 1987)***, The Domino Effect (Charly 1989)***, Christmas Is A Special Day (Right Stuff/EMI 1994)**, Live From Austin Tx (New West 2006)***.
COMPILATIONS: The Very Best Of Fats Domino (Liberty 1970)****, Rare Domino's (Liberty 1970)***, Rare Domino's Volume 2 (Liberty 1971)***, Fats Domino - His Greatest Hits (MCA 1986)***, My Blue Heaven - The Best Of Fats Domino (EMI 1990)****, They Call Me The Fat Man: The Legendary Imperial Recordings 4-CD box set (EMI/Imperial 1991)*****, Out Of Orleans 8-CD box set (Bear Family 1993)*****, The EP Collection Volume 1 (See For Miles 1995)****, The Early Imperial Singles 1950-52 (Ace 1996)****, The EP Collection Volume 2 (See For Miles 1997)****, The Imperial Singles Volume 3 (Ace 1999)****, Legends Of The 20th Century (EMI 1999)***, Walking To New Orleans: 100 Legendary Imperial Recordings 1949-1962 (Capitol 2002)*****, Fats Domino Jukebox: 20 Greatest Hits (EMI 2002)****, The Fat Man: The Essential Early Fats Domino (Indigo 2002)***, The Best Of Fats Domino (EMI 2004)****, Sweet Patootie: The Complete Reprise Recordings (Rhino 2005)**, Sentimental Journey (SPV 2006)***.
VIDEOGRAPHY: with Rick Nelson Rockin' With Rick & Fats (Fuel 2000 2003), The Legends Of New Orleans: The Music Of Fats Domino (Shout! Entertainment 2003), Live From Austin Tx (New West 2006).
FILMOGRAPHY: The Girl Can't Help It (1956), Jamboree aka Disc Jockey Jamboree (1957), The Big Beat (1957).

Encyclopedia of Popular Music
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