Fats Domino | HiLobrow:
In May 1974, Ebony told the story of the man who lost $2 million in casinos — and survived. “Instead of gambling, Fats says he now spends most of his spare hours between shows in his hotel suite reading the Bible and praying in order to cope.”
I'm enjoying the HiLo Heroes series. Fats Domino, when he comes to mind, tends to fall in that space where Time/Life commercials dressed up as TV shows about the history of Rock-n-Roll show ten seconds of a one-hit wonder. "Blueberry Hill," was the song that came to mind, but "I'm Walkin'" is another great one, and "Ain't That A Shame." Jerry Lee Lewis is probably the piano rocker we think of first -- if you went to Billy Joel ... well, there's no accounting for taste, I suppose -- but this post reminded me not relegate Fats to a middle tier status in the Early Rock pantheon. I'm not sure if he's been up too much the last few years, I think the last I heard of him was when he mistakenly thought to have been killed during Katrina.
Here's hoping Fats is still rockin' in good health, wherever his now.
Update: I was a little quick to hit the Publish button. I normally keep an eye out for stories that tie back to a state I've lived in, and missed the bit about the riot in Fayetteville where Fats was injured. Racially integrated dancing in North Carolina was a charged situation, and according to
Rick Coleman's Blue Monday, Fats saw as many riots at shows as any performer of his era.