PBS and the American Masters series are set to present a new documentary about rock and roll legend, Fats Domino. On Feburary 26 at 10 p.m., (check your local listings) the new documentary, Fats Domino and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll debuts. Feburary is Black History Month in the US, and the premiere on the 26th coincides with Fats Domino's 88th birthday. It figures to be a super special night for Fats Domino fans.
Predating the Beatles, Fats Domino was a huge figure in the rock 'n' roll world when it was in its infancy. From the press release comes this about the piano-playing icon, "With his boogie-woogie piano playing rooted in blues, rhythm & blues, and jazz, he became one of the inventors, along with Presley, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard, of a revolutionary genre of music, rock 'n' roll." The documentary traces Fats' ascension in the world of rhythm and blues to the new form that took life in the early 1950's, rock 'n' roll.
Born Antoine Domino, Jr. on February 26, 1928, Fats was the last of eight children and, like Louis Armstrong, grew up in the poor Lower Ninth Ward section of New Orleans. As a child, he liked to tinker on the family piano and his life was forever changed when one of his sisters married a musician, who taught Fats the piano. According to the press release, While playing in the Ninth Ward clubs, Domino met Billy Diamond, a local bandleader and bass player, who invited him to play in his band at the Hideaway Club in New Orleans. It was Diamond who gave him the nickname "Fats" - even before Domino made a record - after the great piano player Fats Waller. Soon, Domino became a regular at the Hideaway Club, drawing crowds and accolades for his musical abilities."
The one hour documentary is both a treasure and a document to the greatness of one of rock 'n' roll's leading pioneers. A DVD of the program will be made available for purchase the day the documentary airs on TV.
