With his wife Rosemary he had eight children – the brothers Antoine III, Anatole, Andre, Antonio and the sisters, Antoinette, Andrea, Anola and Adonica. Born in 1928, he built a split-level house with a terracotta roof in the sprawling Lower 9th Ward, a few blocks from his childhood home. Pleased, Domino insisted they go to another house – same drill: “All right now …” and then another house, and another, each time Elder delivering his sign-off.Īfter 110 million record sales, who needs more publicity? Domino was a grade-school dropout, naturally shy and deeply set in his ways. Domino beamed: “This my friend Bill Elder.” Elder peered into the door and said: “All right now! We stop … and take you live and direct … to Dan Rather and the CBS Nightly News.” The man blinked. You know, when you hand it off to Dan.” Elder sighed – anything to get an interview.Ī man came to the door. “When my neighbor answers, give him your sign-off. Domino led the newsman to a nearby, sagging shotgun house. Domino pulled the door behind him and stepped out, saying: “Can you do me a favor?” Sure, said Elder. “Honey,” he called to his wife, “it’s Bill Elder.” A celebrity in the Lower 9th! Elder tried to wheedle his way in. (You don’t ambush Fats Domino.) Standing on the porch he rang the bell. Claude Avenue to the big house surrounded by a sea of low-income homes he told his camera crew to wait in a van down the street. One day, he drove across the Industrial Canal bridge on St. Elder kept calling, Domino kept saying no.Įlder owned guns, flew his own plane and once he was thrown out of Haiti on assignment. “My wife and I love your show.” But Domino wanted no interview. We stop … and take you live and direct … to Dan Rather and the CBS Evening News.” He managed to get Domino’s unlisted number and started calling. Elder typically closed his broadcast with a verbal drum-roll: “Alllll right now. In the late 1990s a WWL-TV anchor named Bill Elder wanted an interview with Domino, the man whose magical records were a soundtrack to his adolescence in the 1950s. How Domino survived Katrina, and how the recording came together, form a new chapter in the life of a music legend, who will turn 80 on Feb. The foundation plans to restore Domino’s “Annex,” the shotgun house adjacent to the big house, to help revitalize the area. Tipitina’s Foundation is working with Beacon of Hope, a group helping people return to the 9th.

Proceeds will help build a musicians’ business cooperative on a lot Domino has donated at Marais Street and Caffin Avenue, just opposite his big house, where a contractor is at work.

King, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt and a range of talent. The Tipitina’s Foundation has spearheaded a new double-CD on the Vanguard label, Goin’ Home: A Tribute To Fats Domino, featuring cuts from Paul McCartney, Neil Diamond, Norah Jones, Randy Newman, Elton John, B.B. Today he lives in a gated suburb, a far cry from his beloved old turf. Antoine “Fats” Domino’s flooded mansion in the Lower 9th Ward became a symbol of the broken city.

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