The Fat Man (song)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"The Fat Man" is a rhythm and blues song co-written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew and recorded by Fats Domino. It is considered to be one of the first rock and roll records.
History
The song was recorded for Imperial Records in Cosimo Matassa's J&M studio on Rampart Street in New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday, December 10, 1949. Imperial's Lew Chudd had previously asked Dave Bartholomew to show him some locally popular talent, and was most impressed with Fats Domino, then playing at a working class dive in the 9th Ward of New Orleans.
Domino sang and played piano, along with Earl Palmer on drums, Frank Fields on string bass, Ernest McLean on guitar, and sax players Herbert Hardesty, Clarence Hall, Joe Harris, and Alvin "Red" Tyler.
The tune is a variation on the traditional New Orleans tune "Junker's Blues", as written by Drive'em Down, which also provided the melody for Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," and Professor Longhair's "Tipitina." "The Fat Man" features Domino's piano with a distinct back beat that dominates both the lead and the rhythm section. Earl Palmer said it was the first time a drummer played nothing but back beat for recording, which he said he derived from a Dixieland "out chorus." Domino also scats a pair of choruses in a distinctive wah-wah falsetto, creating a variation on the lead similar to a muted Dixieland trumpet.
- They call, they call me the fat man
- ´Cause I weigh 200 pounds:
- All the girls they love me
- ´Cause I know my way around
The lyrics refer to watching Creole women at the intersection of Rampart Street and Canal Street, which at the time were the business centers of the city's African American and Caucasian population, respectively.
The record saw limited release a few weeks later, and was a local hit in New Orleans for Christmas 1949. 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 song was used in the soundtrack of the 2010 video game Mafia II while its appearance is partly anachronistic as it can be heard during the part of the game that takes place in 1945.
References
- Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock 'N' Roll by Rick Coleman (Da Capo, 2006)
