[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 176 (Tuesday, October 31, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF MR. ANTOINE ``FATS'' DOMINIQUE DOMINO, 
                                  JR.

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                        HON. CEDRIC L. RICHMOND

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 31, 2017

  Mr. RICHMOND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy 
of Mr Antoine ``Fats'' Dominique Domino Jr., a lifelong New Orleanian 
musician known as a founding father of rock `n' roll, who passed away 
on October 24, 2017 at the age of 89
  Mr. Domino was born on February 26, 1928, in the Lower 9th Ward in 
New Orleans, Louisiana, the youngest of eight in a family of modest 
means. He earned his nickname thanks to his short, squatty stature. As 
a boy, he became obsessed with the piano, teaching himself to play 
along with songs on the radio. He practiced so much that his parents 
put the piano in the garage.
  Mr. Domino took cues from rhythm and blues stars Louis Jordan and 
Charles Brown and blues singer Amos Milburn, even as he developed his 
own highly rhythmic style. He started out performing on the side while 
doing a variety of odd jobs, delivering ice to homes that didn't have 
refrigerators, fitting springs into bed frames, working in an auto-
repair shop that a cousin owned and tending the cousin's bar next door.
  Conversation of his high-spirited approach to the piano spread, and 
he started attracting crowds to the Hideaway Club on Desire Street, in 
the Upper 9th Ward. His signature piano triplets--three notes for every 
beat--became the basis of rock and pop songs for the next three 
decades. His lone gimmick involved using his immense girth to push the 
piano to the front of the stage-and this he did only during his encore. 
Visionary New Orleans bandleader, producer, songwriter, trumpeter and 
Imperial Records talent scout Dave Bartholomew discovered Domino at the 
club.
  Their first collaboration, ``The Fat Man,'' recorded in December 1949 
at Cosimo Matassa's J&M studio on North Rampart Street, is arguably one 
of the first true rock `n' roll records. It launched one of the most 
successful collaborations in rock history, as Domino and Bartholomew 
created a body of work for Imperial Records that moved New Orleans to 
the vanguard of popular music.
  The dozens of Fats Domino singles included ``Shake Rattle and Roll,'' 
``When the Saints Go Marching In,'' ``Ain't That a Shame,'' ``Blueberry 
Hill,'' and so much more.
  Mr. Domino sold in excess of 60 million records in the 1950s, more 
than anyone except Elvis Presley, according to the Rock and Roll Hall 
of Fame's official biography. He dominated Billboard's pop and rhythm-
and-blues charts from 1955 to 1963. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 
inducted him in 1986, its first year. The next year, he won a Grammy 
for lifetime achievement. President Bill Clinton honored him with a 
National Medal of Arts in 1998.
  The city of New Orleans and the international community lost one of 
our favorite sons. Fats Domino's many musical contributions will live 
on through generations of musicians to come. A pioneer celebrated on 
the international stage, Fats Domino never outgrew his beloved New 
Orleans. We loved him as much as he loved us.
  Mr. Domino's wife, Mrs. Rosemary Domino, died in 2008. Survivors, all 
of whom live in the New Orleans area, include four sons, Anatole, 
Andre, Antonio and Antoine III Domino; four daughters, Antoinette 
Smith, Anola Hartzog, Adonica Domino and Andrea Brimmer, numerous 
grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
  Mr. Speaker, I celebrate the life and legacy of Mr. Antoine ``Fats'' 
Domino, a beloved father, grandfather, and a true example of New 
Orleans culture personified.

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