Fats Domino: ''Walking to New Orleans''

In the worlds of pop, rock and R&B, Antoine "Fats" Domino is a legend. An original inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1986), Domino was second only to Elvis Presley in rock record sales in the 1950s and gave the world some of the greatest songs and performances of R&B and early rock 'n' roll. Capitol/EMI is proud to honor Fats Domino's legacy with the August 14 release of Greatest Hits: Walking To New Orleans, a new 30-track CD and digital album that's as big and rollicking as his New Orleans boogie-woogie. The new chronologically sequenced collection boasts 29 Top 10 R&B hits, including eight #1s from Domino's unprecedented run of success with Imperial Records from 1950 to 1963.

Greatest Hits: Walking To New Orleans spans Domino's Imperial tenure, from his first million-selling hit, 1949's "The Fat Man" (which many have called the first rock 'n' roll record), through his mid-'50s R&B chart-toppers, including his first Top 10 Pop hit, "Ain't That A Shame" and "I'm Walkin'." The blue twosome of "Blueberry Hill" (his biggest hit) and "Blue Monday" (often cited by Fats as his favorite record) are included, and the collection's title track, "Walking To New Orleans." During his heyday, Fats sold more than 65 million records and co-wrote many of his successful songs with his producer and bandleader, Dave Bartholomew.

Domino made "Blueberry Hill," previously associated with Gene Autry and Louis Armstrong, and the Tin Pan Alley artifact "My Blue Heaven" his own the moment he wrapped his Creole-inflected pipes around each of those ancient ditties. "I like old numbers like that, because they never die," said Fats. "They always keep good memories, and the older people like 'em, and the younger people like 'em."

The first musician to become a rock 'n' roll icon solely on the strength of his music and not as an image or novelty, Fats Domino was also part of many of the early touring rock 'n' roll package shows that barnstormed the country and popularized the new music.

Domino often found lyrical inspiration in the experiences of everyday folks. "Something that happened to someone, that's how I write all my songs," he said. "I used to listen to people talk every day, things would happen in real life. I used to go around different places, hear people talk. Sometimes I wasn't expecting to hear nothin', and my mind was very much on my music. Next thing I'd hear, I would either write it down or remember it good."

Even as rock 'n' roll's popularity waned as Little Richard retreated into the ministry, Elvis donned Army fatigues, and a battalion of well-scrubbed teen idols invaded from Philly, the Fat Man kept on rocking with "Whole Lotta Loving," "I'm Ready," and "I'm Gonna Be A Wheel Someday." "Be My Guest" wafted down to Jamaica and ended up a cornerstone of ska's birth.

No other veteran R&B artist of his era would come close to equaling his long-term impact on rock 'n' roll, as evidenced by the wide variety of artists covering his songs, from Bobby Darin, Ella Fitzgerald, Ricky Nelson and Ike & Tina Turner to John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow, T-Rex, Los Lobos, and Cheap Trick.

"On and off the stage, he's a true man who belongs to the public," said the late Roy Montrell, his longtime guitarist. "Everything he does, he does it with his public in mind."

He's still a man of the people, judging from the way the world waited on pins and needles when word filtered out that he was missing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation. New Orleans' Ninth Ward, Antoine Domino, Jr.'s home from the day of his birth on February 26, 1928, was one of the epicenters of Katrina's wrath. When photos of Domino's rescue from his flooded home finally hit media outlets, the planet breathed a collective sigh of relief.

That's how beloved a figure Fats Domino remains, not only in his native Crescent City, where he's a virtual deity, but everywhere. As one of the irreplaceable rock 'n' roll pioneers of the 1950s, he deserves no less.

Icons from the world of rock, blues, reggae, pop and country music have joined together to salute the genius of Fats Domino for the upcoming double CD, Goin' Home: A Tribute To Fats Domino, set for release on September 25. Goin' Home will help raise desperately needed funds specifically earmarked for instruments to be donated to New Orleans' public school children as well as going toward the rebuilding of the still ravaged Lower 9th Ward neighborhood where Fats has lived his entire life. Participating artists, who have recorded new versions of legendary Fats songs, include: Paul McCartney, Norah Jones, Neil Young, Elton John, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Robert Plant, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Art Neville and Lenny Kravitz. The Tipitina's Foundation (www.tipitinasfoundation.org), a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to preserving the cultural legacy of New Orleans through music education for the youth and providing programs that support working musicians of New Orleans and the Gulf Region, conceived and executive produced Goin' Home.