Friday, October 27, 2017

Weekly Finale: Fats Domino

This week's musical finale comes on a sad note with the death of Fats Domino, at the age of 89.

Fats Domino became a musical sensation with the song, "Blueberry Hill", which reached #2 on the U.S. music charts in 1956 (#1 on the R&B charts). He must have known he made it big when he appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show":



But where Domino really shined was when he took a bluesy theme and gave it the special treatment only he could, with that big smile of his, which said, "Yeah, you got me blue now, but you ain't beaten me yet!" The best example of this is in 1957's "I'm Walkin'":


The legacy of Fats Domino on rock and roll music is huge, having influenced such rockers as Elvis and Paul McCartney. But even later musicians weren't immune to the Domino's musical prowess. Just consider 1955's "Ain't That a Shame", written by Domino and Dave Bartholomew:



That song led to one of the greatest covers in rock history, by Cheap Trick in 1979:



If there are pianos in Heaven, I am sure Fats is there now. And no matter what he is singing, he will be smiling.

That is all for this week's blogging. I will return Monday, but now I'm walkin' into the weekend. Enjoy yours!

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