Antoine "Fats" Domino, 1928-2017

The NYT gives us a money quote from America's Pelvis:

Mr. Domino had more than three dozen Top 40 pop hits through the 1950s and early ’60s, among them “Blueberry Hill,” “Ain’t It a Shame” (also known as “Ain’t That a Shame,” which is the actual lyric), “I’m Walkin’,” “Blue Monday” and “Walkin’ to New Orleans.” Throughout he displayed both the buoyant spirit of New Orleans, his hometown, and a droll resilience that reached listeners worldwide.

He sold 65 million singles in those years, with 23 gold records, making him second only to Elvis Presley as a commercial force. Presley acknowledged Mr. Domino as a predecessor.

“A lot of people seem to think I started this business,” Presley told Jet magazine in 1957. “But rock ’n’ roll was here a long time before I came along. Nobody can sing that music like colored people. Let’s face it: I can’t sing it like Fats Domino can. I know that.”

Others who've already given "Fats" some thought, & managed to embed some of his tunes:

Fats Domino: the big easy from The Big Easy…

C&L's Music Club Remembers Fats Domino

Gwen Thompkins / NPR: Fats Domino, Architect Of Rock And Roll, Dead At 89

Discussion:

Nick Vadala / Philly.com:   Philly's Chubby Checker got his name thanks to the late Fats Domino

TMZ.com:   Fats Domino Dead at 89 (UPDATE)

Breanna Edwards / The Root:   Fats Domino, Rock ‘n’ Roll Icon, Dead at 89

Comrade Misfit embedded the song that started it all, maybe, "The Fat Man":
Some, however, will say that "One Mint Julep" was the cause of it all, 'though it was released a yr. or two later.Or "Rocket 88". Points for the distorted git-fiddle.Other candidates. Ear of the beholder, really.

Anyone else noticed that almost all the well-known who've shuffled off this world of shit & pain this yr. have been, unlike those caught in 2016's Parade of Celebrity Death, in their 80s & 90s, & probably more than ready to go?