Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Fats Domino died Tuesday in his native Louisiana of natural causes. He was 89.
The musician, born Antoine Domino, had hits like “Blueberry Hill” and “Ain’t That a Shame” in the 1950s and early ‘60s.
At one time, he sold more records than any artist except Elvis Presley and his million-selling single "The Fat Man" is often cited as the first rock and roll record.
Paul McCartney has said the Beatles track “Lady Madonna” was inspired by Domino’s “Blue Monday.”
"I was 17 when I made my first record in 1949," Domino told the BBC in a 1973 interview. "I never thought about being professional. I used to work in a lumberyard and that's where I first heard a number on a jukebox and I liked it."
John Lennon, Willie Nelson, Elton John and Canada’s Neil Young are among the artists who have covered Domino’s songs, which also include
“You helped pave the way for new orleans piano players,” tweeted Harry Connick Jr. “See you on top of that blueberry hill in the sky.”
LL Cool J tweeted: "He paved the way for so many” and Kid Rock remembered Domino as a “true American treasure.”
Born in New Orleans, he was one of nine siblings the family and spoke Creole French before learning English.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and honoured with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987.
Domino’s daughter said he died peacefully surrounded by family and friends.