Found My Thrill on Blueberry Hill

This is the legendary rocker who sang one of my all-time favorite songs “Blueberry Hill,” and I found a thrill in every note. His full name is Antoine Dominique “Fats” Domino, Jr.. or in rock and roll simply Fats Domino. He’s an American R&B and rock and roll pianist, singer, and songwriter. Before 1955 he had released five gold records and had 35 Top 40 Hits in the U.S. Fats Domino comes from New Orleans, Louisiana, and has a mixture of African-American heritage and French Creole background. Music was prominent in his family his father was a well-known violinist, and his uncle was a jazz guitarist.

Fats Domino rose to stardom with his first song, “The Fat Man,” in 1950, which had sold a million copies by 1953. He had lots of prominent musicians in his band, and the sound was incredible.

In 1955 he came out with a Top Ten hit, “Ain’t That a Shame”. He scored big with his first album Rock and Rollin’ with Fats Domino, which was released in 1956. This song was covered by Pat Boone, and his version rose to number one on the pop charts. The hit record increased awareness of Domino's music. This was the first song that Beatle John Lennon learned to play on guitar.

Domino had five Top 40 hits, among them “My Blue Heaven” in 1956.

That same year he recorded my favorite and a favorite of many, “Blueberry Hill,” which rose to number 2 in the Top 40 and number 1 on the R&B charts and stayed there for eleven weeks and went on to sell over 5 million copies.

Other hits followed “When My Dreamboat Comes Home”, “I’m Walkin’”, “Valley of Tears”, “It’s You I Love”, “Whole Lotta Loving”, “I Want to Walk You Home”, and “Be My Guest”. Most of his songs just got you up and dancing along. Fats Domino appeared in two movies in 1956 Shake Rattle and Roll and The Girl Can’t Help It. His hit “The Big Beat” was featured on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.

When talking about his success Domino said his songwriting came from inspiration gained from everyday events. He would listen to the things people said and their experiences. He also said the success of his music came from rhythm, and songs had to have a good beat like the music of New Orleans.

The hits continued to roll out with “Walkin’ to New Orleans” in 1960. Soon he had lots of competition when the British Invasion changed the face of rock and roll. Even though the hits stopped by the early 1960s, Domino continued to tour and record. He became one of the charter members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1979 he made a cameo appearance in the movie “Any Which Way You Can” and this resulted in the country hit “Whiskey Heaven’. In the 1980s Fats Domino made the decision to stop touring and remain in his beloved New Orleans. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

He still performed annually at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. He took one last tour to Europe in 1995 and in 1998 President Clinton presented him with the National Medal of Arts. Rolling Stone magazine listed him at number 25 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2007 Fats Domino was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

After surviving Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans Domino made a few public appearances. Footage from a concert in 2007 was put in a documentary, “Fats Domino: Walkin' Back to New Orleans was broadcast the following year. A greatest hits album was released around this time with the best by Domino.

One last thing about Fats Domino and his fabulous “Blueberry Hill” whoever watched the hit TV show Happy Days must have had a smile like I did every time Richie Cunningham played by Ron Howard came down the stairs at home ready for a date singing the beginning of this song, “I’ve found my thrill,,,,”

Fats Domino will be missed as he passed on in New Orleans on October 24, 2017. He leaves behind his legend and his music for all of us and future generations.