Fats Domino
Fats Domino was an American rhythm-and-blues pianist, singer, and songwriter whose New Orleans sound helped shape early rock and roll.
Dave Bartholomew: An American trumpeter, bandleader, songwriter, and record producer central to New Orleans rhythm and blues. He co-wrote and arranged many of Domino’s recordings and helped define their sound.
New Orleans rhythm and blues: A postwar popular-music style from New Orleans combining blues, jazz, Caribbean influences, and dance rhythms. Domino’s recordings are among the style’s most influential expressions.
Ain't That a Shame: A 1955 Fats Domino hit written by Domino and Dave Bartholomew. Its chart success established Domino as a major presence in the emerging rock-and-roll market.
Early rock and roll: A popular music style that emerged in the United States during the 1950s from rhythm and blues, country, and related traditions. Domino’s hits helped make rhythm-and-blues sounds central to the new style.
Imperial Records: An American record label that released major rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll recordings from the 1940s through the 1960s. The label built Domino’s national career through a long run of hit records.
Triplet piano: A piano accompaniment pattern that groups notes in threes, often creating a rolling, lilting pulse. Domino’s rolling piano figures gave many songs their buoyant rhythmic drive.
I'm Walkin': A 1957 Fats Domino hit written by Domino and Dave Bartholomew. Its call-and-response phrasing and compact arrangement became a template for later popular recordings.
Elvis Presley: An American singer and actor whose recordings and performances made him a defining figure in rock and roll. Presley publicly praised Domino and acknowledged the older pianist’s influence.
Allen Toussaint: An American songwriter, pianist, arranger, and producer who became a leading figure in New Orleans music. His later career extended the city’s piano-led popular-music tradition that Domino helped establish.
Boogie-woogie: A blues piano style built around repeating bass figures and syncopated right-hand patterns. Its piano vocabulary helped shape the rhythmic foundation of Domino’s playing.