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I Found My Thrill ...
by George North
HIST 4991-356, Summer 1994
Dr. Douglas Brinkley
July 19, 1994
"In New Orleans music is more common than sunshine, cause even when it rains
we make song out of the water walking cross the window pane. Here is a city
of musicians, a place where children play piano and even dogs dance in the
street ... our music is no accident."
Kalamu ya Salaam
In October 1956, I asked Paula Daigle to meet me by the gate, and I would
pay the 25 cents for her admission to the skating party. It was my first
date; I was ten years old. What I remember about that night is a song, "Blueberry
Hill." It remains to this day, my favorite song. "Blueberry Hill"
is quintessentially Fats Domino.
"'Blueberry Hill,' was the biggest hit," said Dave Bartholomew
, "it had been done a million times before and I wasn't too interested
in Fats doing it. But he insisted he wanted to do 'Blueberry Hill.' We were
in Los Angeles at the time and we set out to get the music but we couldn't
find it. Fats' brother-in-law, Harrison Verrett, told us most of the words
so we got it together bit by bit. So what happened, Fats forgot the words
in the middle of the song and this guy in the studio was very good and he
said do the bits you know and he put all the pieces together. That was unheard
of then." So "Blueberry Hill" ... was made by pasting together
a couple of verses on tape.
Antoine "Fats" Domino, Jr. is a rhythm and blues singer and piano
player whose music just happened to be the roots of Rock 'n' Roll. There
has never been an artist out of New Orleans who has created a sound that
has consistently been more recognizable, more influential and more profitable.
Domino made his way onto the charts, and into the hearts of America, almost
matter-of-fattly. He wasn't outrageous or threatening. He was a harbinger
of a new sound. Domino established himself by simply continuing to play
and develop the same New Orleans music he had always played (EMI 9).
New Orleans distinctive culture flowed from the Mississippi as the city
grew block by block along its banks. Its ethnic melting pot produced a cultural
gumbo that spawned the New Orleans Sound, a sound brought to its apex by
Fats Domino. The piano was especially important in New Orleans at small
clubs, brothels, parties, and Saturday night fish fries. And in New Orleans,
every day was Saturday. The pianists' repertoire was expected to be broad
and wide to cater for every request. Fats was taught piano by Harrison Verrett,
a talented musician who had played guitar and banjo with Papa Celestin,
Kid Ore and many other Dixieland musicians. Verrett had married Domino's
sister when Fats was 4 years old and Fats would follow him around town on
music jobs. By the time Fats was ten, he was already performing in public.
In the late 1940's, rhythm and blues was becoming the music of black America.
Dave Bartholomew who had been a big band leader, explains, "It got
too costly to keep up a big band." Scaling down so that we could keep
playing and making money had a lot to do with the evolution of the sound
(Hannusch 98).
Domino says, "I listened to Roy Milton, Camile Howard, Charles Brown,
Amos Milburn, Joe Turner and especially Louis Jordan . It seemed like Louis
Jordan used to put a new record out every two weeks." His favorite
boogie-woogie masters were Albert Ammons, Pet Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis.
And he had plenty of influence from New Orleans piano legends Champion Jack
Dupree, Isidore "Tuts" Washington, Professor Longhair and Count
Basie (EMI 13).
At age 20, Fats married his childhood sweetheart, Rose Mary, and took his
first job as a pianist with Billy Diamond's combo at The Hidaway Club. In
less than a year, Fats had his first recording contract (for royalties,
unusual for that time) with Dave Bartholomew and Lew Chudd's Imperial Records
(Broven 29-30).
In April, 1950, "The Fat Man" became the first of many hit records.
Domino was "The Fat Man", five feet five and over 200 pounds.
It was his first recording, his first hit, and his first gold record. Many
have called it the first "Rock 'n' Roll" record. His second record,
"Every Night About This Time," had far greater significance on
Fats' music style, for this is the first example of his 6/8 triplet style
of piano on record. Fats did not originate the triplet piano, having learned
from Little Willie Littlefield, but he made it popular. By 1952, Fats Domino's
stardom was really established when "Goin' Home" reach No. 1 (EMI
17-8).
His recording success was matched by the success of his many live performances.
In 1954 he embarked on a series of one-nighters that lasted for five months.
In August he appeared at Brooklyn's Ebbett's Field as a headliner in Alan
Freed's "Moondog Jubilee of Stars Under the Stars." Domino was
the first musician to become a Rock 'n' Roll star solely on the strength
of his music and not as an image or novelty.
Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" soured to the top in July,
1955. Presley didn't get national attention until August, 1955 and Little
Richard's "Tutti Frutti" hit the charts in December 1955 (Shaw
8-10). By this time, Fats Domino had fifteen charted hits and seven gold
records. Dave Bartholomew called Domino's vocals warm, rich French Creole
intonations. "We all thought of him as a country and western singer,"
not a blues singer. Elvis was "rockabilly" until Alan Freed coined
the name "Rock 'n' Roll." It was all just old two-beat Dixieland,
but with rhythm and blues (Broven 32).
Domino's band also had a big influence on this new music. Almost every
record featured a tenor saxophone solo, usually from Herb Hardesty or Lee
Allen. The saxophone was the first musical symbol of Rock 'n' Roll. Other
members were Ernest McLean, guitar; Clarence Hall and Alvin "Red"
Tyler, tenor sax; Joe Harris, alto sax; Salvador Doucette, piano; Earl Palmer,
drums; and Bartholomew on trumpet (EMI 14).
Domino's strong New Orleans bluesy influence was the roots of Rock 'n'
Roll. With a five year head start on almost every Rock 'n' Roll artist,
it was natural that he would have an affect on most of them. Little Richard,
passing Fats back stage at a concert said, "Fats, I sure do wish I
had a hit record like you." Domino replied, "Well, I like that
song 'Tutti Frutti.'" The list of artists that Fats directly affected
is long; following is a short short list: Lloyd Price, Bobby Mitchell, Bobby
Charles, Tommy Ridgley, Eddie Bo, Wardell Quezergue, Allen Toussaint, Clarence
(Frogman) Henry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lee Dorsey, Chubby Checker,
The Neville Brothers, Aaron Neville, Billy Joel, Elton John, Paul McCartney,
and name anybody you want. Testimony to Fats' success was how fast cover
artists like Pat Boone and Rickie Nelson recorded his hits.
What would be the history of Rock 'n' Roll if Elvis was a black man and
Fats white? For sure, Elvis would not be a pop icon. Domino kick started
Rock 'n' Roll. He proved that African-Americans could make lots of money
with their music., and thus he became a role model for many who followed.
His biggest impact was on the recording industry itself, as record producers
began asking the obvious, "If Fats Domino can sell millions of records
yearly with his silly music, how many could an equally silly white man sell?"
From 1950, the search was on. In the end, Elvis proved Fats was right --
Rock 'n' Roll was here to stay.
Fats Domino's legacy is his music, 110 million records sold, only the Beatles
and Elvis have sold more. Today, at age 66, Fats lives in relative anonymity
in the neighborhood of his youth. He hasn't recorded for twenty years, but
still does live performances with the same enthusiasm he started with fifty
years ago. Fortunately for me, in New Orleans today it is still possible
to pay 25 cents and listen for those magical words from the jukebox ...
"I found my thrill ... on Blueberry Hill."
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Berry, Jason. "The Fat Man Turns Sixty." New Orleans Magazine
May 1988: 27-31, 88 90.
Broven, John. Rhythm & Blues In New Orleans . Pelican Publishing
Company. Gretna, La. 1978.
EMI Records, "They Call Me the Fat Man... Antoine 'Fats' Domino, The
Legendary Imperial Recordings." EMI Records . Legends
of Rock 'n' Roll Series. 1991
"Fats Domino in His Prime." Figaro 27 October 1980:
25.
George, Nelson. The Death of Rhythm & Blues . Pantheon
Books. 1988.
Hannusch, Jeff (a.k.a. Almost Slim). I hear you Knockin': The Sound
of New Orleans Rhythm and Blues . Swallow Publications, Inc. Velle
Platte, La. 1985.
Hannusch, Jeff (a.k.a. Almost Slim). "Fats' New Album Falls very Flat."
Figaro 27 October 1980: 25
Shaw, Aronld. The Death of Rhythm & Blues . Pantheon Books,
New York. 1988.
Wyckoff, Geraldine. "They Call Me the Fat Man: Antoine Fats Domino,
The Legendary Imperial Recordings." Gambit 10 December
1991.
ya Salaam, Kalamu. "Our Music Is No Accident." The New Orleans
Tribune April 1987: 7
Blueberry Hill
(Lewis-Stock-Rose) Chappell & Co. Inc., ASCAP
Master # IM 1082, Time: 2:20
Recorded 7/56
Released 9/56 (Imperial 5407)
Charted R&B 10/6/56, Reached #1
Charted Pop 10/6/56, Reached #2
"Blueberry Hill."
I found my thrill
On Blueberry Hill
On Blueberry Hill
When I found you
The moon stood still
On Blueberry Hill
And lingered until
My dream came true
The wind in the willow play
Love's sweet melody
But all of those vow you make
Are never to be
Though we're apart
You part of me still
For you were my thrill
On Blueberry Hill
The wind and the willow play
Love's sweet melody
But all of those vow you make
Were only to be
Though we're apart
You part of me still "When I sing a song, I want
For you were my thrill people to remember the words."
On Blueberry Hill Fats
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