S.O.D. "The Fat Man" by Fats Domino

11/13/2017     One of the founders of rock ‘n’ roll, this great performer with the magical smile would go on to inspire such artists as The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, and many more.  One of the shyest performers to date, it is believed that his huge contribution to the rock ‘n’ roll genre has been largely overlooked because of this.  

     Born in 1928 in New Orleans, the first language he learned to speak was Louisiana Creole. This language, with only a few thousand people presently speaking it, is considered an endangered language.  By age 10 he was learning the piano and four years later was performing in New Orleans’  establishments.  Bandleader Billy Diamond dubbed him with the ‘Fats’ nickname.  Diamond hired Domino after seeing him play at backyard barbecue.  He reminded Diamond of the pianists Fats Waller and Fats Pinchon, but also gave him the nickname due to his large appetite.  

     When hurricane Katrina arrived in 2005, Domino stayed put, mainly due to his wife being ill. Afterwords, rumors spread that Domino had died, and shortly after this it was reported that he and his family was rescued by the Coast Guard and taken to a shelter.  They were all rescued from the shelter by Domino’s granddaughter’s boyfriend, JaMarcus Russell, the starting quarterback for the Louisiana State football team.  

     In his time, Domino released more than 50 albums and around 140 singles, with more than 35 in the top 10 on the R&B chart. He was one of the first black performers to appeal to white audiences.  Fats left us on October 24, 2017.  He received numerous awards and was inducted into many Halls of Fame.  in 1995 after his last tour, Domino stated that he would no longer leave New Orleans, due to his residual income from royalty payments and that he could never find food that he liked anywhere else in the world.