Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

The willow is too close to the house.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

People are complicated. Love is not.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Infrastructure week. at last.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Everybody saw this coming.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

A Senator Walker would also be an insult to reason, rationality, and decency.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

You are here: Home / Music / Fats Domino RIP

Reader Interactions

77Comments

  2. 2.

    kindness

    Saw this on a friend’s Facebook page this AM. I commented that the Like button seems inappropriate for this and what we really need is an ‘Aw Damn!’ button.

  3. 3.

    lamh36

    As i said on twitter, I can STILL recall his house in the Lower 9tth Ward vividly, pre-Katrina how bright & colorful it was. Many of my family & friends were his neighbors. Walking To New Orleans was my ringtone for yrs in DFW. I swear this song made me cry when i lived in DFW. I missed being in NOLA so much.

    Even listening to it today, I can STILL feel how i felt when i was away from NOLA and I’ve been back now for almost 5years!

    RIP Fats…NOLA grown Rock Legend!

  4. 4.

    Brachiator

    I loved Fats Domino’s music. When I was a kid, a relative had a stack of 78 RPM records that she would let me listen to. And so, my taste and knowledge of music was informed not just by the new stuff I heard on the radio, but by the roots of rock and roll. I still remember how the slightly warped records (featuring Fats’ “Blueberry Hill” and Little Richard’s “Lucille”) would seemingly bounce up and down as the music played, making rock and roll a living moving thing.

    Later, the spirit of Fats guided me as I learned how influential his piano style was on rock and jazz. And I loved how Paul McCartney payed tribute to Fats with his “Lady Madonna” and how the song later become a hit for Fats himself. Cultural appreciation, not cultural appropriation.

    And yes, it is a cosmic joke that a whitey whitebread poseur like Pat Boone ever had a hit with his version of Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame.”

    I did not know how shy and reclusive he was, and how he basically never left his beloved Lower Ninth Ward after some years.

    I love the end of the Fats Domino tribute at the AV Club site

    Domino is survived by eight children, and an entire genre of music for which he was one of the key innovators.

    Thank you, Fat Man.

  11. 11.

    Villago Delenda Est

    A very good run by Mr. Domino.

    Thrills on Blueberry Hill, etc.

    RIP to Robert Guillaume as well.

  16. 16.

    Amir Khalid

    Since he took office, has Trump issued a statement on the passing of any major American cultural figure? I understand that many will be glad he didn’t say anything insensitive about Chuck Berry or Tom Petty or anyone else who passed on, but I thought it had become expected for POTUS to say something.

  21. 21.

    No Drought No More

    I think that Fats music was the most innately cheerful of any music I’ve ever heard. It’s a happy sound that never fails to get my toe tapping, and it always will. RIP, indeed, and thanks Fats..

  23. 23.

    mai naem mobile

    @Amir Khalid: Roger Ailes if you want to consider him somebody cultural. I mentioned this a while back. These idiots didn’t even release anything when Jerry Lewis and Mary Tyler Moore died. MTM was a teevee icon anf Jerry Lewis was a movie star and raised all that money for March of Dimes. I’m pretty sure he was a Republican. Nothing can happen in Dolt 45s administration unless it directly makes him look good. Asshole.

  24. 24.

    trollhattan

    @NotMax:
    Maybe the best “Soap” running gag.

    [phone rings, one or more Tates look expectantly at Benson]
    Benson: “You want me to get that?”

    It was hard to believe that show even existed during its run and seeing every rule and convention shattered in real time was a revelation.

  26. 26.

    germy

    “Blueberry Hill” was an old Gene Autry song from 1940, but when Fats covered it, it became a Fats Domino song. My favorite version.

    He was a genial man who didn’t succumb to the excesses of the rock and roll lifestyle. He never shot anybody (like Jerry Lee Lewis) and I can’t think of a single person who had anything bad to say about him.

    Somebody; I think it might have been Dick Clark’s wife, saw another Black singer and named him “Chubby Checker” thinking they could duplicate the Fats Domino magic. But it doesn’t work like that.

  27. 27.

    Ajabu

    @Brachiator:

    And yes, it is a cosmic joke that a whitey whitebread poseur like Pat Boone ever had a hit with his version of Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame.”

    That slimeball made an entire career of insipid covers of Black artists in the 50’s.
    Rumor has it that he wanted to change the title to ISN’T That a Shame so not to offend his white listeners with slang. Honky, Please…

  28. 28.

    Cacti

    It’s been a sad past couple of years in the music world:

    Fats Domino
    Tom Petty
    Chris Cornell
    Chuck Berry
    Prince
    David Bowie

    :-(

  33. 33.

    ruemara

    @Amir Khalid: It is expected as the Consoler-in-Chief, however, as we have a pretender to the throne, we can dismiss such an expectation.

    @germy: Powerful men are scum around whatever they’re attracted to. They’ve been this way forever and the only surprising thing is if we are able to keep them accountable as much as we have in the past few weeks.

    I adored Fats Domino and others of his generation. I feel silly that I thought he was dead already. RIP, sir. I loved your music.

  36. 36.

    germy

    NAACP warns black people they aren’t safe on American Airlines

    https://boingboing.net/2017/10/25/naacp-warns-black-people-they.html

    1. An African-American man was required to relinquish his purchased seats aboard a flight from Washington, D.C. to Raleigh-Durham, merely because he responded to disrespectful and discriminatory comments directed toward him by two unruly white passengers;

    2. Despite having previously booked first-class tickets for herself and a traveling companion, an African-American woman’s seating assignment was switched to the coach section at the ticket counter, while her white companion remained assigned to a first-class seat;

    3. On a flight bound for New York from Miami, the pilot directed that an African-American woman be removed from the flight when she complained to the gate agent about having her seating assignment changed without her consent; and

    4. An African-American woman and her infant child were removed from a flight from Atlanta to New York City when the woman (incidentally a Harvard Law School student) asked that her stroller be retrieved from checked baggage before she would disembark.

  37. 37.

    Brachiator

    @Ajabu:

    That slimeball made an entire career of insipid covers of Black artists in the 50’s.
    Rumor has it that he wanted to change the title to ISN’T That a Shame so not to offend his white listeners with slang. Honky, Please…

    OTOH, Fats Domino did a great version of Kansas City

    Some lads from Liverpool, UK, did a fine cover of the song. I hear they made something of themselves in the music biz.

  39. 39.

    ruemara

    @germy: America isn’t sliding backwards, it’s tumbling backwards at an increasing acceleration. Were that many white folks just sitting around waiting for the unleashed racism signal to turn on?

  41. 41.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Amir Khalid:

    I think he is quite probably the most culturally unaware POTUS we’ve ever had — certainly in the modern era. No accident that he decided months ago that he won’t be attending the Kennedy Centre Honours this year. I daresay he’s never heard of any of the recipients.

  42. 42.

    Mnemosyne

    I suppose I should be used to musicians being successful at a young age, but Domino had 5 gold records by the time he was 27. That’s pretty impressive, especially since he obviously didn’t live fast and die young.

  43. 43.

    Mnemosyne

    @ruemara:

    I can’t help but note that three of the four stories cited were flights that originated in the South (I count DC as “south” because they had legal slavery up until the Civil War). One story does not name the originating airport.

    I’m not going to say that racism only happens in the south, because we all know that’s not true, but I think it’s easier to get away with this shit without penalty in the south. A gate agent who pulled that in LA or NYC would get their asses fired, pronto.

  44. 44.

    Bess

    Leon Russell
    Leonard Cohen
    Paul Kanter
    Merle Haggard
    Sharon Jones
    Charles Bradley
    and so many others.

    It’s been a brutal couple of years for those who like music with some heart and soul.

  45. 45.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Mnemosyne: I agree, one sole deplorable who had T signs on a busy street in my town, took all of them down and has put a bunch of flags of different countries instead in his yard, immediately after elections.

  46. 46.

    Suzanne

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD):

    I think this year’s ratio of non-shitbag:shitbag deaths is actually higher than 2016’s.

    I can deal with the deaths if they’re not premature. Last year didn’t just suck because of who we lost, but also because it felt like we lost so many too young.
    Though Tom Petty’s death might have affected me the most of all of them. FUCK.

    RIP, Fats! What an incredible talent.

  47. 47.

    Mnemosyne

    @schrodingers_cat:

    One person in my neighborhood had a large, obnoxious Trump/Pence banner on his house before the election. It vanished within about a week afterwards.

    Plus, at least in LA, a large number of the gate agents and ticket agents are themselves African-American, so they wouldn’t be doing this childish shit in the first place.

  49. 49.

    Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)

    @SiubhanDuinne: He was a jazz-rock musician/composer and an in-house producer for Capitol Records in the ’60s and 70s. Did two instrumental interpretation albums of William Blake (Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience); worked with Lou Rawls, David McCallum & the Adderleys. Released <emRequiem: Holocaust in 1993 and died on the night of Super Bowl LI.

  50. 50.

    Brachiator

    @ruemara:

    America isn’t sliding backwards, it’s tumbling backwards at an increasing acceleration. Were that many white folks just sitting around waiting for the unleashed racism signal to turn on?

    I wonder who might have been stirring up the kettle of resentment. Could it be … Trump? From a recent NPR news story:

    A majority of whites say discrimination against them exists in America today, according to a poll released Tuesday from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

    “If you apply for a job, they seem to give the blacks the first crack at it,” said 68-year-old Tim Hershman of Akron, Ohio, “and, basically, you know, if you want any help from the government, if you’re white, you don’t get it. If you’re black, you get it.”

    More than half of whites — 55 percent — surveyed say that, generally speaking, they believe there is discrimination against white people in America today. Hershman’s view is similar to what was heard on the campaign trail at Trump rally after Trump rally. Donald Trump catered to white grievance during the 2016 presidential campaign and has done so as president as well.

    Notable, however, is that while a majority of whites in the poll say discrimination against them exists, a much smaller percentage say that they have actually experienced it. Also important to note is that 84 percent of whites believe discrimination exists against racial and ethnic minorities in America today.

    It’s as if they entire country has to suffer for Trump’s resentment of, and obvious feelings of inferiority when compared to, Obama.

    As Fats would say, “Ain’t it a shame!”

  51. 51.

    BC in Illinois

    @No Drought No More:
    This:

    I think that Fats music was the most innately cheerful of any music I’ve ever heard. It’s a happy sound that never fails to get my toe tapping, and it always will.

    I put on the YouTube mix of Fats Domino songs and just let it play. Most of his big hits were before I was even 10, but it seems like his music is the sound of my childhood. It was always there. I wasn’t old enough to realize that he was anything new.

  52. 52.

    ruemara

    @Brachiator:

    It’s as if they entire country has to suffer for Trump’s resentment of, and obvious feelings of inferiority when compared to, Obama any moderate to highly achieving POC.

    As Fats would say, “Ain’t it a shame!”

    Honey, I’ve lost more to white resentment than I can count, especially when they realize I could possibly be smarter than them. The fact that I see that as an individuals are just fucked up and not “that whole group is fucked up” is both a testament to my ancestors, my solid grounding in real faith-based principles and my general pollyanna attitude that everyone deserves a chance to be considered a nice person until they prove you should cut a bitch.

  53. 53.

    Miss Bianca

    @Brachiator: Aaaand..it’s shit like this NPR piece that makes me feel like sitting on a street corner guzzling a bottle of Woolite.

    At least the NPR piece on the 150 best albums by women has got me listening to #131, Shirley Horn’s I Thought About You – Live at Vine Street right now. It’s having a soothing effect on my blood pressure.

    ETA: Oh, and RIP, Fats Domino. I’m glad he got a good long life and recognition for his contributions to American music.

  57. 57.

    Spanky

    @ruemara:

    and my general pollyanna attitude that everyone deserves a chance to be considered a nice person until they prove you should cut a bitch.

    I love your way with words.

  58. 58.

    trollhattan

    So the NYT ran a major investigative piece about Nancy Beck and chemical regulations at the EPA and beforehand the reporter reached out to EPA–Specifically somebody named Liz Bowman and Nancy Beck herself–with a page and a half of additional questions re. Dr. Beck. The reason for the author’s request is EPA’s serial refusals to be interviewed or respond to the article in any way during development.

    This is the response from Liz Bowman.

    “No matter how much information we give you, you would never write a fair piece. The only thing inappropriate and biased is your continued fixation on writing elitist click bait trying to attach qualified professionals committed to serving their country.”

    I got both emails from an EPA contact.

    They’re ruining our government as we watch.

  60. 60.

    trollhattan

    Hasn’t this family done enough already?

    Bruce Paddock, a brother of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock, has been arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of possessing child pornography, the Associated Press reports. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to the LA Times that a man was detained Wednesday in North Hollywood on charges related to child pornography, but would not release the suspect’s name.

  61. 61.

    ruemara

    @Miss Bianca: That is the oddest takeaway from what you wrote. My question was wouldn’t vodka be preferable?

    @trollhattan: watch and do not that much.

    @Spanky: My ass needs to be writing my scripts. So I can train children in my mild and humanitarian views.

  64. 64.

    ET

    This bums me out. I grew up in NOLA and his songs seemed to be so ubiquitous that I always felt he was around even though I never met him.

  65. 65.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Brachiator:

    “If you apply for a job, they seem to give the blacks the first crack at it,” said 68-year-old Tim Hershman of Akron, Ohio [. . .].

    Jesus. Any bets on the last time this asshole applied for a job? Rhetorical question.

  67. 67.

    James E. Powell

    @ruemara:

    They now say out loud & in public what they used to whisper or say only in private. Not sure why, but the corporate press/media have pretty much accepted openly racist discourse as “some say” and “both sides.”

  69. 69.

    JGabriel

    @ruemara:

    Were that many white folks just sitting around waiting for the unleashed racism signal to turn on?

    Not so much ‘waiting’, perhaps, as much as being propagandized into responding to the unleashed racism signal – like Pavlov’s bell – by Fox News, Breitbart, World Nut Daily, and other right-wing propaganda outlets masquerading as news.

  72. 72.

    Brachiator

    @Steeplejack (phone): RE: “If you apply for a job, they seem to give the blacks the first crack at it,” said 68-year-old Tim Hershman of Akron, Ohio [. . .].

    Jesus. Any bets on the last time this asshole applied for a job? Rhetorical question.

    That’s part of the problems. These goobers don’t have a real grievance, based on facts or personal experience. But they create “irrefutable proof” of bias against white people based on theoretical situations or some gossip that they heard from a friend of a friend.

  73. 73.

    Citizen Alan

    Not to be contrarian (I have no beef with the late Mr. Domino), but every time I see an article about a famous person dying in their late 80’s or into their 90’s, I just shudder. At this point, my biggest night terror comes from the thought of living into my 80’s, knowing that I probably won’t be rich in 80’s, and understanding perfectly well how this country will be treating 80-year-olds forty years from now after the Republicans get done raping the country to death. I am literally terrified at the thought of reaching the most vulnerable point in my life since early childhood, with no one to protect me and surrounded by sadists who will enjoy doing me harm in some way.

  74. 74.

    J R in WV

    @trollhattan:

    This is the response from Liz Bowman.

    “No matter how much information we give you, you would never write a fair piece. The only thing inappropriate and biased is your continued fixation on writing elitist click bait trying to attach qualified professionals committed to serving their country.”

    Ms Bowman is (according to Google) Chief Spokesman for the EPA, and according to your quote, she doesn’t know how to spell attack? I believe the quote is accurate, I just can barely understand that such a highly placed person would be that careless and / or ignorant.

  75. 75.

    Brachiator

    @Citizen Alan:

    I am literally terrified at the thought of reaching the most vulnerable point in my life since early childhood, with no one to protect me and surrounded by sadists who will enjoy doing me harm in some way.

    Don’t worry about it. There are three possibilities. Things will be about the same. Things will be much worse. Or things will be much better. Two out of three may work in your favor.

    And look at the example of Fats Domino. He endured and overcame much. He survived a freaking hurricane. He was also able to live among friends and family and be loved and respected. And in between he helped create rock and roll.

    Live the best life you can.

  76. 76.

    prostratedragon

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I think he is quite probably the most culturally unaware POTUS we’ve ever had

    Or *any* public figure. Lassie knew more of the general culture. It triples the annoyance from having that noggin trying to dominate the scene, and so also the destructiveness.

    (Just had to jump on late to say that.)

  77. 77.

    prostratedragon

    @No Drought No More: I was pretty little during his biggest run of success, and that is just what I remembered about him. I used to enjoy watching his hands on the piano keys when he came on tv (Art Linkletter’s show as I recall). The music sounded as he was, and the reverse.

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