The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 441

Number 441

Fats Domino

"Ain't That A Shame"

(1955)

Genre: Rock n Roll

senior moment?

Every time i watch Fox News, i sit there and wait for John McCain to pop up on the screen and say "This news item was paid & approved for, by John McCain". I have never seen a news company so openly anti-Obama and PRO-McCain in my life! I'm curious, is it the anchors [spelt with a silent "W"] that set the anti-Obama tone or is it Fox News producers? Yes, you're probably right ... Its both.

I have not had a chance to see any of the 3 debates, hence the reason why i surf the news channels late at night here in NZ and every single time after a debate, Fox news declares "McCain wins again". Now that statement by Fox is not going to fool me and I'm not even American. I only have to check digg.com to find out what the people really think who won. And it Ain't McCain. [nice slogan]

So, why do i watch Fox at all? Well to be honest the "BBC" is dour, "CNN" is dead right boring and the last choice, besides Fox, is the "Australian news channel", which is blatantly Australian [no, really?]. So that leaves Fox news for my nightly [forced] fix of the "McCain Worship Hour" and honestly, Fox is a great cure for insomnia, that is, if you can get over the nightmares of "McCain Worship" in the morning!

He aint so fat

The most popular exponent of the classic New Orleans R&B sound, Fats Domino sold more records than any other black rock & roll star of the 1950s. His relaxed, lolling boogie-woogie piano style and easygoing, warm vocals anchored a long series of national hits from the mid-'50s to the early '60s. Through it all, his basic approach rarely changed. He may not have been one of early rock's most charismatic, innovative, or threatening figures, but he was certainly one of its most consistent. Domino's first single, "The Fat Man" (1949), is one of the dozens of tracks that have been consistently singled out as a candidate for the first rock & roll record. As far as Fats was concerned, he was just playing what he'd already been doing in New Orleans for years, and would continue to play and sing in pretty much the same fashion even after his music was dubbed "rock & roll."

I is ... Rock n' Roll

The record made number two on the R&B charts, and sold a million copies. Just as important, it established a vital partnership between Fats and Imperial A&R man Dave Bartholomew. Bartholomew, himself a trumpeter, would produce Domino's big hits, co-writing many of them with Fats. He would also usually employ New Orleans session greats like Alvin Tyler on sax and Earl Palmer on drums -- musicians who were vital in establishing New Orleans R&B as a distinct entity, playing on many other local recordings as well (including hits made in New Orleans by Georgia native Little Richard). Domino didn't cross over into the pop charts in a big way until 1955, when "Ain't That a Shame" made the Top Ten. Pat Boone's cover of the song stole some of Fats' thunder, going all the way to number one (Boone was also bowdlerizing Little Richard's early singles for pop hits during this time). Domino's long-range prospects weren't damaged, however; between 1955 and 1963, he racked up an astonishing 35 Top 40 singles. "Blueberry Hill" (1956) was probably his best (and best-remembered) single; "Walking to New Orleans," "Whole Lotta Loving," "I'm Walking," "Blue Monday," and "I'm in Love Again" were also huge successes.

I aint scared of no hurricanes!

After Fats left Imperial for ABC-Paramount in 1963, he would only enter the Top 40 one more time. The surprise was not that Fats fell out of fashion, but that he'd maintained his popularity so long while the essentials of his style remained unchanged. This was during an era, remember, when most of rock's biggest stars had their careers derailed by death or scandal, or were made to soften up their sound for mainstream consumption. Although an active performer in the ensuing decades, his career as an important artist was essentially over in the mid-'60s. He did stir up a bit of attention in 1968 when he covered the Beatles' "Lady Madonna" single, which had been an obvious homage to Fats' style. ~ [Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide]

Fats Vs Hurricane Katrina

Heard of Obama Sir?

When Hurricane Katrina was approaching New Orleans in August 2005, Dianna Chenevert encouraged Fats to evacuate, but he chose to stay at home with his family, partly because of his wife's poor health. Unfortunately his house was in an area that was heavily flooded. Chenevert e-mailed writers at the Times Picayune newspaper and the Coast Guard with the Domino's location. Someone thought Fats was dead, and spray-painted a message on his home, "RIP Fats. You will be missed", which was shown in news photos. On September 1, Domino's agent, Al Embry, announced that he had not heard from the musician since before the hurricane had struck. Later that day, CNN reported that Domino was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter. His agent, Al Embry, confirmed that Domino and his family had been rescued. The Domino family was then taken to a Baton Rouge shelter, after which they were picked up by JaMarcus Russell, the starting quarterback of the Louisiana State University football team, and Fats' granddaughter's boyfriend. He let the Dominoes stay in his apartment.

Office of Fats

The Washington Post reported that on September 2, they had left Russell's apartment after sleeping three nights on the couch. "We've lost everything", Domino said, according to the Post.
By January 2006, work to gut and repair Domino's home and office had begun. For the meantime, the Domino family is residing in Harvey, Louisiana.
Chenevert replaced the Southern Stars poster Fats Domino lost in Katrina and President George W. Bush also made a personal visit and replaced the medal that President Bill Clinton had previously awarded Fats. ~ [Source: Wikipedia]

For Beatles see Number 489, #587, #894 & #947

What does Rolling Stone think of Fats?

With more than 65 million record sales to his credit, New Orleans singer and pianist Fats Domino out sold every 1950s rock & roll pioneer except Elvis Presley leaving an indelible and profound impact on subsequent generations of musicians.By the time the rock & roll boom began in the mid-1950s, Fats was already an established R&B hitmaker ("Goin' Home," 1952; "Going to the River," 1953), his records regularly selling between half a million and a million copies apiece. His pounding piano style was easily adapted to the nascent rock sound, although he proved less personally magnetic than contemporaries like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, or Jerry Lee Lewis, all of whom recorded Domino material. ~ [Source: RS]

For Elvis Presley see Number 443, #501 & #840

For Chuck Berry see Number 783

Rolling Stone magazine deemed their '441st Song of all Time' was "Come Go With Me" by Del Vikings. Del Vikings has not appeared in The Definitive 1000.

Other songs with reference to Fats Domino #596, #743, #958

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number 431 and the Album ranked at (Too many to choose from-so we chose none)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 77.3 out of 108

Fats Domino
Uploaded by Gatorrock784. - Explore more music videos.