Academic researchers and amateur music lovers alike have long argued
over the exact origins of the world cultural phenomenon "rock and roll." Some say Ike Turner and his Rhythm Kings, who released the booming automotive anthem "Rocket 88" in 1951, deserve credit for starting the movement in earnest. Others put "rock 'n' roll" killer Bill Haley, guitar maestro Chuck Berry or the swaying hips of Elvis Presley at the center of the story.
Ultimately, pinning rock's genius on one man was a fool's errand: throughout the late '40s and '50s, innovators across the country were building on African-American jazz, swing Based on music and R&B, he drew inspiration from his predecessors and contemporaries and made a clear contribution to the original masterpiece of classic rock. It's hopeless to figure out who is the most influential of them all, but in terms of charisma, style and catchy songwriting, it's safe to say that simple-born piano warriors Fat Domino are tops.
Born Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. in 1928, the Louisiana Creole child quickly fell in love with the music of his community. Immersed in the improvisational spirit of jazz, the joyous energy of big band swing and the infectiously fast keyboard riffs of boogie woogie, Domino found himself being asked to join the event. Kevin Street, director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, said it was the last "fat man" colored by New Orleans' rich Afro-Cuban habanero dance tradition to master and create his own. style.
"A lot of what makes Fat Man Domino unique stems from his background," and absorbed the music of New Orleans, working with the city's musicians to develop a new take on American pop. sound. A key aspect of Domino's style was his incorporation of Habanero's naturally catchy, easily repeatable Trejillo rhythm, which would anchor many of his future radio hits.
Domino had been playing local studios since his early teens, and soon, with the help of music industry visionary Dave Bartholomew, the charismatic young The pianist won the major leagues. Bartholomew, representing the Artists and Repertoire division of Empire Records, officially recruited Domino in 1949, producing and co-writing with the 21-year-old a single called "Fat Man", which was adapted from champion Jack Jack Dupree's noir drug tune "Junker Blues," but with a completely different vibe. Domino lights a fire beneath Dupree's melodious melodies, his dancing fingers carving ruthless backseats and playful serendipitous jingles into the minds of all who hear. Even today, a listener can picture the artist sitting on the piano bench, feet tapping as each note dips and sways.
The record soared up the R&B charts; eventually, it sold more than 1 million copies. Fatty Domino's makes its nationwide debut. Fat Domino, 1984 (NPG, ~1984), Red Groom/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York,
From this From its auspicious beginning, Domino's became a huge success, winning the ears and hearts of everyone on radio stations around the world. From Meliforos, the sad lyrics of "Wouldn't It Be a Shame" (1955) - are accompanied by smooth guitar, steady percussion and, of course, piano's cheerful trills that open "Blueberry Hill" (1956) The sustained swing of "I'm Walking You Home" (1959), with the easy repetition and intimacy of "I'm Walking to New Orleans" (1960), with the iconic up-and-down swing of "Kansas City" (1964) Keyboard beats, Domino's output was always pinyin, and fans happily ate it up.
The Tresillo rhythms he borrowed from New Orleans' Afro-Cuban music served him very well, Kevin Street recalled, "by the late 1940s."
"Along with his singing partner Dave Bartholomew and the likes of Little Richard, Fats Domino began to really dominate mainstream pop music, using the beautiful triplet rhythmic structure. This became their basis for the piano
This dominance was not appreciated by everyone at the time. The Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of African American History has a 1965 copy of Greater New Orleans Citizens' Committee" flyer, encouraging readers to "Help Save America's Youth: Don't Buy Black Records." Many Southerners feared that the growing popularity of black musicians would jeopardize the racial power structures they viewed as central to their way of life. In fact, these fears were well-founded, and like the music of Fat Dominoes, it made people of all colors and creeds dance together and reminded them of their shared humanity in turbulent times. Rock music and the civil rights movement went hand in hand. . An aging fat domino flown to the Superdome from his flooded home in the Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina The Smithsonian Collection now houses a neat pair salvaged from his waterlogged residence. (NMAAHC, gift of Antoine "Fat" Domino)
One of Domino's long-time admirers is Nashville-born pop artist Red Groom, who he recalls fondly over the decades. In 1984 he was so moved by his days listening to avant-garde rock music in his art studio that he created a heartfelt, brightly colored paper sculpture in memory of the musician, which is now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. , is an incisive depiction of Domino sitting in front of a gorgeous blue piano, wearing a bright green jacket and yellow shirt, facing the audience's gaze with a mischievous smile on his face. The piano bench sits on a larger-than-life vinyl record, which seems a fitting portrait of a man who integrated music into every aspect of his life later in life. , an aging Domino will withstand the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, airlifted from his flooded Lower Ninth Ward home to the Superdome with a natural pair of two-toned slippers salvaged from his flooded residence. belongs to the Museum of African American History and, to the American people, is a constant reminder of a long-troubled city’s indomitable spirit in the face of adversity, despite Fat Man Domino’s death earlier this week at the age of 89. The impact on the global music landscape and on the lives of African Americans being treated as equals in their own countries is monumental. In the rumbling piano, and in the warmth of his vocals, we are all blessed to get lost