Boogie-woogie pianist helped launch rock
Only Elvis sold more records in rock’s early days.
Antoine “Fats” Domino, the jovial New Orleans entertainer whose bluesy singing and boogie-woogie piano style helped launch rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s with such rollicking songs as “Blueberry Hill,” “Ain’t That a Shame” and “I’m Walkin’,” died Oct. 24. He was 89.
Mark Bone, chief investigator with the Jefferson Parish coroner’s office in Louisiana, confirmed his death to the Associated Press. Additional details were not immediately available.
Among the early rockers, Domino was rivaled only by Elvis Presley in record sales. He dominated Billboard magazine’s pop and rhythm-andblues charts from 1955 to 1963. Moreover, Domino’s signature piano triplets — three notes for every beat — became the basis of rock and pop ballads for the next three decades, including such diverse recordings as the Beatles’ “Oh, Darling,” Otis Redding’s “These Arms of Mine” and even Percy Faith’s “Theme From ‘A Summer Place.’”
In a music style identified with rebellion, Domino wasn’t very rebellious in his approach. Unlike Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and any number of other flamboyant performers, he sang in a mellow voice and sported a wide grin on stage. His lone gimmick involved using his immense girth to push the piano to the front of the stage — and this he did only during his encore.
“He had a natural talent,” said rhythm-and-blues historian John Broven. “Yet he seemed to have little idea as to why he was famous, which only enhanced his charm and appeal. His biggest hits made rock ‘n’ roll acceptable by appealing to all age groups and races. And he did it without compromising his New Orleans roots.”
“The Fats Domino sound,” Broven added, “was a combination of Fats’ clearly enunciated and naturally melodic Creole-laced vocals, aided by his underrated piano work — from creative boogie-woogie to simple triplets — and the impeccable solos and riffs from the accompanying band.”
Such songs as “Walking to New Orleans” and “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?” instantly identified Mr. Domino with his hometown. The latter recording, from 1961, was revived on the radio during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
New Orleans culture was heard in the catchy parade rhythms of such hits as “I’m Walking” and “I’m Gonna Be a Wheel Someday” — a reflection of arranger Dave Bartholomew’s background in traditional jazz.
Antoine Domino Jr. was born Feb. 26, 1928, in New Orleans’ 9th Ward, the youngest of eight in a bilingual Creole family. His father played Creole songs on the violin. Domino learned the basics of piano from his brother-in-law Harrison Verrett, a banjo player and guitarist with Papa Celestin’s Dixieland band, who would later work as Domino’s road manager.
Bartholomew, moonlighting as the talent scout for Imperial, a struggling California record label, brought the label’s owner, Lew Chudd, to the Hideaway. Chudd, who was white, later recalled that he had to scrunch down in the back seat of Bartholomew’s car because of New Orleans’ segregation laws. Domino signed with the label, an association between Bartholomew, Chudd and Domino that lasted more than a decade.
While Mr. Domino initially balked at traveling outside New Orleans, he became a touring attraction with a band that often included session saxophonists Herb Hardesty and Lee Allen. He occasionally lent his piano trills to other performers’ recordings, such as Lloyd Price’s 1952 hit, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” later covered by Presley.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Domino in 1986, its first year. The next year, he won a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement. He received a National Medal of Arts from President Bill Clinton in 1998.
His wife, the former Rosemary Hall, whom he married in 1947 and for whom he named the song “Rose Mary,” died in 2007. Their son Andre died in 1997.