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Black History Month

History-makers of Southeast Louisiana

Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew

Antoine "Fats" Domino

"Fats" Domino (1928-2017)

Antoine "Fats" Domino was born in New Orleans in 1928. He quit school at age 14 and went to work as a musician playing at local bars and nightclubs. In the 1940s he joined trumpeter Dave Bartholomew’s band. Their partnership was magical. With Bartholomew as co-writer and producer, Fats scored his first big hit with “The Fat Man” (1949), which is also considered the first million-selling Rock 'n Roll record. Through the early 1950s, they created some of the definitive records of early rock & roll. The duo had 37 top 40 records 1950-1963, including “I’m in Love Again,” “Blue Monday,” “I’m Walkin,” and “Whole Lotta Lovin.’”


Fats Domino died in October 2017. He will be remembered as one of rock's earliest and most enduring stars. Four of his songs are in the Grammy Hall of Fame for their significance in music history: “Blueberry Hill” in 1987, “Ain’t It A Shame” in 2002, “Walking to New Orleans" in 2011 and “The Fat Man” in 2016. Fats was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. The next year, he was presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1998, Fats was presented the National Medal of Arts.


To learn more about this Louisiana music legend, click the following links:

 

The books listed below are available for you at Sims Memorial Library.