# RIP-Fats Domino-Ain't that a shame
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [October 25, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818 "2017-10-25T15:17:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/1 "2017-10-25T15:17:32Z")
I guess he now has a permanent plot on Blueberry Hill. ☹
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### Author:  [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/2 "2017-10-25T15:17:59Z")
[https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/fats-domino-rock-n-roll-143733048.html](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/fats-domino-rock-n-roll-143733048.html)
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/3 "2017-10-25T15:29:55Z")
Man, this year just **sucks!**
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### Author:  [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/4 "2017-10-25T15:35:05Z")
Duplicate thread. Reported for a merge
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/5 "2017-10-25T16:28:42Z")
Fats was the quintessential New Orleans jazz/blues man. He was lucky to have a few pop hits to put some money in the bank, as most of those guys languish in obscurity their entire careers. We were supposed to see him at the Jazz Fest in NOLA right after Katrina, but his health caused him to cancel.
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### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/6 "2017-10-25T16:28:48Z")
He certainly had a memorable career, and by all accounts was a good guy.
Frankly I’m surprised to find out he was still alive; men of his… girth… tend not to get within sniffing distance of 90.
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### Author:  [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/7 "2017-10-25T17:29:33Z")
One of the things I admire about Fats Domino is that he lived his life the way he wanted. It’s not that he was selfish, it’s that he knew who he was and what he wanted out of life. He lived most of his life in or near New Orleans, where he was born. A lot of that was in his house in the lower 9th ward, a poor section of town. He had a nice house, for that neighborhood, but it wasn’t a rock star’s mansion. He didn’t seal himself off from the neighborhood, either - the house was open to the street, not sealed off behind layers of security. When he was awarded the National Medal of Arts, he sent his daughter to the ceremony to receive it from President Clinton. In other words, he didn’t go in for the trappings of fame. He was a pioneer, he was famous, but he didn’t live like a famous person.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/8 "2017-10-25T17:30:44Z")
[Moderating]
Huh, that’s funny, it was **DSYoungEsq** ’s thread that got reported as the duplicate, but apparently it was a fraction of a minute earlier. Ah well, **E-DUB** ’s had a better title, anyway.
As an aside, if reporting a thread as a duplicate, it helps to include the URL of the other thread, so we moderators don’t need to hunt it down.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/9 "2017-10-25T18:13:42Z")
I assumed he had died decades ago. I guess I don’t know shit!
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/10 "2017-10-25T23:59:38Z")
Had Fats performed in the past few years?
I haven’t heard his name in at least a decade or more. Happy Days brought Blueberry Hill back to the public’s attention. Richie often sang the line.
I really should seek Fats out on YouTube. I’m not that familiar with his work. I’ve heard Fats was a very friendly guy and well liked.
ABC nightly news did a nice tribute to him. Mentioning his early use of Triplets in his boogie-woogie piano playing.
RIP
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/11 "2017-10-26T00:08:37Z")
A bit more on triplets. A fascinating bit of music theory. I still struggle playing them correctly.
> **[Fats Domino, Early Rock ’n’ Roller With a Boogie-Woogie Piano, Is Dead at 89...](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/obituaries/fats-domino-89-one-of-rock-n-rolls-first-stars-is-dead.html)**
>
> Known for his two-fisted piano playing and nonchalant vocals, he had more than three dozen hits, including “Blueberry Hill” and “I’m Walkin’.”
> [@](#):
>
> Mr. Domino’s trademark triplets, picked up from “It’s Midnight,” a 1949 record by the boogie-woogie pianist and singer Little Willie Littlefield, appeared on his next rhythm-and-blues hit, “Every Night About This Time.” The technique spread like wildfire, becoming a virtual requirement for rock ’n’ roll ballads.
>
> “Fats made it popular,” Mr. Bartholomew told Rick Coleman, the author of “Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock ’n’ Roll” (2006). “Then it was on every record.”
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### Author:  [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/12 "2017-10-26T02:04:14Z")
Ah, Fats - he played so easy and smooth.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/13 "2017-10-26T02:43:53Z")
This article from 2007 gives insight into Fats. He was a class act. His house gets flooded and he accepts it with a smile. Focuses on getting it restored and moving back home.
I guess he lived nearly ten more years in that house.
> **[Fats Domino is ready to go home](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-mar-10-na-fats10-story.html)**
>
> He visits his gutted 9th Ward house, to be restored by summer. His return is seen as a sign of hope in the area.
> [@](#):
>
> Sitting in what used to be his pink entertainment room on a bench from the front porch, Domino recalled memories of his life in the 9th Ward – cutting grass for the neighbors, cooking red beans and rice for family and friends.
>
> “It don’t take a lot to be happy,” he said with a smile.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/14 "2017-10-26T02:53:36Z")
His house got hit hard in 2007’s flood. He was lucky to get out alive.
[https://goo.gl/images/kn2yte](https://goo.gl/images/kn2yte)
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### Author:  [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/15 "2017-10-26T05:42:54Z")
This is a tough loss. As a white kid I heard some of his songs on Top 20 radio. They didn’t get the plays they should have because it was “race” music.
Years later, when I was musically more sophisticated I bought a greatest hits album and listened to it. The guy and his music was amazing!
Tonight I was driving and listening to NPR. One of the shows ended with a tribute and they played “Blue Monday”. What a song! The story, the singing, the lyrics, the back beat the saxophone solo. What a song!
Fats, RIP. I love you.
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### Author:  [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/16 "2017-10-26T05:45:49Z")
FYI, Katrina was in 2005, not 2007.
After Katrina hit, there were rumors that he had died in the storm/flood. Someone even painted graffiti on his house saying, “R.I.P. Fats You will be missed”. About a week after the storm someone found a photo of him getting into a rescue boat.
For those who want to familiarize themselves with his work, his biggest hits were [Ain’t That a Shame](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6JZW7zMDfY), [Blueberry Hill](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQQCPrwKzdo), [I’m Walkin’](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqs5gkyH930), [Whole Lottta Loving](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oJyDohSyK8) and [Walking to New Orleans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1z45jVlM34).
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/17 "2017-10-26T13:30:08Z")
Anyone else remember Ritchie Cunningham singing “I found my thrill on blueberry hill”? That was totally improvised by Ron Howard, and Gary Marshall like it so much he kept it in and used it as a running gag on Happy Days.
Fats Domino was one of the first crossover artists. And he was great!
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### Author:  [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/18 "2017-10-26T19:46:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> [Moderating]
> Huh, that’s funny, it was **DSYoungEsq** ’s thread that got reported as the duplicate, but apparently it was a fraction of a minute earlier. Ah well, **E-DUB** ’s had a better title, anyway.
>
> As an aside, if reporting a thread as a duplicate, it helps to include the URL of the other thread, so we moderators don’t need to hunt it down.
And here I was scratching my head today and wondering if I had simply forgotten a moment of brilliance. 😛
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/19 "2017-10-31T13:24:10Z")
Did he ever find his drill?
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### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-fats-domino-aint-that-a-shame/799818/20 "2017-11-10T00:40:26Z")
Sorry for being so awfully late to this thread, but I’m just listening to Van Morrison’s _It’s Too Late Too Stop Now_, and \*Domino \*comes up. This has always been a tribute to the man, [so I’ll share it as a rather belated good bye to one of music’s greatest](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAlqbpWWGj0).
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