Singer and piano player Antoine “Fats” Domino Jr. was one of the most influential artists of a generation, the likes of Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Tom Petty, Little Richard, and Led Zeppelin citing Domino as an influence.

Fats was born in New Orleans, in the lower ninth ward on 26 February 1928. He attended the Louis B. Macarty School until the fourth grade, leaving to start work as a helper to an ice delivery man, then at the Crescent City Bed Factory. Domino learned to play the piano in about 1938 from his brother-in-law, the jazz guitarist Harrison Verrett. By age 14, Domino was performing in New Orleans bars. In 1947, Billy Diamond, a New Orleans bandleader, accepted an invitation to hear the young pianist perform at a backyard barbecue. Domino played well enough that Diamond asked him to join his band, the Solid Senders, at the Hideaway Club in New Orleans, where he would earn $3 a week playing the piano. Diamond nicknamed him “Fats”, because Domino reminded him of the renowned pianists Fats Waller and Fats Pichon, but also because of his large appetite.

Domino crossed into the pop mainstream with “Ain’t That a Shame” (mislabeled as “Ain’t It a Shame”) which reached the Top Ten. This was the first of his records to appear on the Billboard pop singles chart (on July 16, 1955), with the debut at number 14. Domino wrote it with trumpet player, band leader, and producer Dave Bartholomew, who produced and co-wrote Domino’s first record “The Fat Man” that same year. “Ain’t That a Shame” was Fats Domino’s first hit song that was not recorded in New Orleans, where the singer lived. He recorded it on March 15, 1955 in a Hollywood studio when he was on tour in Los Angeles. Imperial Records had the engineers compress Fats’ vocals and speed up the song a bit to make the song sound less bluesy and give it more mainstream appeal. This also made it more difficult for other artists to cover the song.

“Ain’t That A Shame” was the first rock and roll record to sell over a million copies, and achieved a No.2 ranking on the R&B charts. This was the first song to crossover from the R&B charts to the mostly white pop charts of the day. Like several other songs previously heard exclusively in black bars or nightclubs, it was covered by the crooning Pat Boone. Concerned about how educated, upper-class whites would respond to the title, he originally wanted it changed to “Isn’t That a Shame,” but the producers realized the original title would sell better and kept it.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8dx0oE–VI

Boone’s cover was a huge hit, going to #1 on the US Pop charts and reaching #7 in the UK. This gave Domino’s original recording a boost, and helped it cross over. According to Boone, both Domino and Little Richard (another artist he covered) appreciated his efforts. In an interview, Boone said: “When I recorded their songs, my records of their songs sold 10 times that – and introduced them to the white audiences, or the pop audiences. So, they were grateful for my having recorded their songs. And of course, we became friends, as well.” Boone liked to tell a story about a concert at which Domino invited Boone on stage, showed a big gold ring and said, “Pat Boone bought me this ring.”

“Ain’t That a Shame” was the first song that John Lennon learned to play and he and Paul McCartney often jammed it together during the Quarrymen days. He later covered it on the album “Rock ‘n’ Roll”.

Ain’t That A Shame’ was the first rock ‘n’ roll song I ever learned. My mother taught it to me on the banjo before I learned the guitar. Nobody else knows these reasons except me”.

During his career, Domino had 35 records in the U.S. Billboard Top 40, and five of his pre-1955 records sold more than a million copies, being certified gold. This song is ranked number 438 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1995 he received the Rhythm & Blues Foundation’s Ray Charles Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1998, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 25 on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.

Domino died on October 24, 2017, at his home in Harvey, Louisiana, at the age of 89, from natural causes, according to the coroner’s office.

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