Fats Domino, born Antoine Dominique Domino Jr., is known for his R&B and his influence on early rock 'n' roll music.
describes him this way: "In Domino鈥檚 nickname became the basis of his first single, "The Fat Man," a huge R&B hit 鈥� it went to Number Two nationally 鈥� and reported million-seller. Some music historians consider 鈥淭he Fat Man鈥� to be the first rock and roll record; at the very least, it is a milestone rhythm and blues performance heralding a new age in popular music.
The secret behind the appeal of Domino鈥檚 music鈥檚 was, unsurprisingly, rhythm. "You got to keep a good beat," Domino said in a 1956 interview in Downbeat magazine. "The rhythm we play is from Dixieland 鈥� New Orleans." He elaborated on that point in the liner notes for his 1991 box set, They Call Me the Fat Man...: The Legendary Imperial Recordings: 鈥淓verybody started callin' my music rock and roll,鈥� noted Domino, 鈥渂ut it wasn't anything but the same rhythm and blues I'd been playin' down in New Orleans."
Domino rose to fame in the late 1940s, but it was mostly confined to the R&B charts until 1952. He sold more records (65 million) than any other 1950s-era rocker except Elvis Presley, according to the R&R Hall of Fame. Some of his biggest hits included "The Fat Man" and "Ain't That A Shame" and "Blueberry Hill."
