In 1963, Imperial Records was sold, and Domino left the label for ABC-Paramount Records. He reached the top ten of the pop charts with three different “walking” songs-“I’m Walkin’,” “I Want to Walk You Home,” and “Walking to New Orleans.”ĭomino continued to appear regularly on both the pop and the R&B charts through 1962. It was a standard from the pre-rock era, as was one of his other 1956 hits, “My Blue Heaven.” Another common theme for Domino was walking. He once brought Boone on stage during a concert, showed the audience a flashy ring, and told them, “Pat Boone bought me this ring.”ĭomino had his biggest hit in 1956, when “Blueberry Hill” spent 11 weeks at the top of the R&B charts. He reportedly liked Boone’s version of the song, and since he (with Bartholomew) had written the song, he made money from both versions. Unlike some black artists of the day, Domino took no offense at this.
As was common in the 1950s, Boone recorded a cover version that smoothed out the rougher R&B elements of the original, making it more palatable to the most conservative pop radio stations. That song did become a #1 pop hit, but for Pat Boone, not for Domino. His first pop crossover hit was “Ain’t That a Shame” in 1955. That largely explains why Domino never had a #1 hit on the pop charts and makes it even more impressive that he managed to make the pop top ten eight times. Notably, his recognizable piano style can be heard on Lloyd Price’s 1952 hit “ Lawdy Miss Clawdy.”Īlso in 1952, Domino had the first of his nine #1 singles on the R&B chart, “Goin’ Home.” In much of the United States, radio stations were still strictly segregated white artists were played on pop stations, and black artists were played on R&B stations. In the early part of his career, Domino continued to work occasionally as a studio musician for other artists. If you’d like to dive deeper, The Complete Imperial Singles includes the A and B sides from the label where Domino had his greatest success. Unless they’re linked elsewhere, you’ll find all of the singles mentioned in this blog post, including “The Fat Man,” on the greatest hits collection Walking to New Orleans. The record was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015.Īs with most artists of this era, it’s easier to find the greatest hits collections than their original albums, and those collections usually give you a better sense of the importance of the artists. The birth of rock and roll was a gradual thing, and it’s nearly impossible to point to any one specific record and say “ this is where rock and roll began,” but “The Fat Man” has as good a claim as any to be the first million-selling rock record. Together, they wrote “The Fat Man,” which sold a million copies by 1951.
Two years later, Domino signed with Imperial Records, where he was paired with writer/producer Dave Bartholomew. The band’s leader gave him the nickname “Fats,” both for his size and because Domino reminded him of Fats Waller. In 1947, he joined a popular local band, the Soul Senders, and was paid three dollars a week as their piano player. By the time he was 14, Domino was performing in New Orleans bars and nightclubs. He began playing the piano at about the age of ten, taught by his brother-in-law, who was a jazz guitarist. His New Orleans boogie-woogie piano playing, rich voice, and warm personality made him one of the biggest stars of the 1950s.ĭomino was born and raised in New Orleans, the youngest of eight children and his first language was Louisiana French Creole. Domino was one of the creators of rock and roll. Antoine “Fats” Domino was born on February 26, 1928.
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