The Fat Man (song)
"The Fat Man" is a song by American rhythm and blues recording artist Fats Domino. It was written by Domino and Dave Bartholomew, and recorded on December 10, 1949.[1] It is often cited as one of the first rock and roll records or at least a strong influence on the genre. This was a "rollicking" song, according to The Guardian "but what made it a rocker was Fats's barrelling piano triplets, combined with a solid big beat".[2]
This article is about the Fats Domino song. For other songs, see fat man (disambiguation)."The Fat Man"
"Detroit City Blues"
December 1949
J&M Studio;
December 10, 1949
2:35
The recording is one of four Fats Domino songs to have been named to the Grammy Hall of Fame. Domino received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987.[3]
Release and reception[edit]
"The Fat Man" was released in December 1949 by Imperial Records right before Christmas and began to gain national attention in January 1950, and on February 18, it reached number two on the R&B Singles chart.[1] It was Domino's debut single, the B-Side being "Detroit City Blues". Imperial advertising claimed it sold 10,000 copies in New Orleans in 10 days, and the record became a national hit in late January 1950.
"The Fat Man" is often cited as one of the first rock and roll records.[6] Musicologist Ned Sublette said that the song was rock and roll before the term had been coined and that Domino crossed a line by playing a stripped-down, more aggressive boogie-woogie piano with a series of "piano-triplet-and-snare-backbeat hits."[7] According to Biography.com, it "became the first rock 'n' roll record to sell 1 million copies".[3]
The artist was not convinced that his work was of a new genre. Years later, in 1956, he made this comment: "What they call rock and roll is rhythm and blues, and I've been playing it for 15 years in New Orleans."
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