Author: Rick Coleman
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Year Published: 2006
Type: Biography
Format / Pages: / 301 pages
Review: He is not Elvis Presley or Buddy Holly, but is indeed a rock 'n' roll legend.
Fats Domino has sold over 100 million copies, yet his reclusiveness has
kept writers at bay-- until now. Interviewed by Rick Coleman in this
first ever biography of the New Orleans singer, Fats Domino's impact on the
world around him is finally revealed in Blue Monday.
Elvis Presley's own confessions acknowledged Domino as the leader of the rock
‘n’ roll movement, with such statements like, "Let’s face it: I can't sing
it like Fats Domino can. I know that."
Historically, Rick Coleman includes the backbone of American culture in each
chapter. Integral to the understandment and cohesion of how music was
accepted during the 1930's and 1940's is reveterbrated consistently in
Blue Monday. The quotes that open up each chapter, "Teenagers
demand music with a beat, spur rhythm and blues" and "Supreme Court outlaws
segregation" read like headlines in a newspaper.
The history of Fats Domino strides from his family's beginning, "His wife
Rosemary had a song named after her but was desperate for a simple life.
Domino was extravagant in spending, though penned a song after his love, whom
he sorely missed while on the road" to his pleasures, "Cars came right after
music and food" and lastly, to his music, "He changed the 4/4 beat to the
one-two-three to add to the rhythm."
Domino's first moments include hanging out with music geniuses, "Gayton
hailed Antione and invited him to lunch. Still in his jeans, the 19-year-old
Domino walked into the restaurant with the city’s biggest black star. It was
a moment he would never forget".
In Blue Monday, R&B Scholar Rick Colemen interviews not only Fats Domino,
but other musical legends; included are Lloyd Price, the Clovers,
Charles Brown, and members of Buddy Holly’s group, the Crickets.
Additional Information: Check it out @ Amazon.com
ISBN: 0306814919
Reviewed by: Jessica Rae Cortez
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