With producer and arranger Dave Bartholomew, Domino cut a string of songs in the 1950s and early ’60s that helped establish his hometown of New Orleans as a rock ‘n’ roll hotbed and made him one of the music’s leading figures.
The pair recorded “The Fat Man” in late 1949, a song considered one of the first rock ‘n’ roll records — a group that includes Wynonie Harris’ version of “Good Rockin’ Tonight” (1947) and Jackie Brenston and Ike Turner’s “Rocket 88” (1951) — and followed it up with more than 30 Top 40 hits, including 23 gold singles.