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<< Previous   of   Next >> Associated Press  (click to enlarge) Fats Domino   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, November 17, 2008 PBS follows Domino's return to the stage after Katrina By Stacey Plaisance Associated Press NEW ORLEANS -- Fats Domino lost his sprawling yellow-and-white house in Hurricane Katrina and with it, the keepsakes of an extraordinary career that took him from New Orleans honky-tonks to worldwide hitmaker. When Katrina swamped his Lower 9th Ward neighborhood and 80 percent of his hometown with floodwater, Domino lost his home, three pianos, dozens of gold and platinum records and other memorabilia. So, when the 80-year-old singer took the stage at a popular New Orleans club for the first time after the 2005 storm, fans cheered and cried as he bopped the upbeat strains of "I'm Walkin"' and crooned "Ain't That a Shame," along with a host of other hits. Footage from that appearance in May 2007, his first and last since Katrina, is the basis of a new documentary, "Fats Domino: Walkin' Back to New Orleans," that will air on public broadcasting stations over the next few years. Songs from the performance are interwoven with interviews from Domino's friends and fellow musicians, including Dr. John, Irma Thomas, Randy Newman and Allen Toussaint. The roughly hourlong film is narrated by actor John Goodman, who has strong connections to the city. "They did a good job," Domino said softly during an invitation-only showing of the film in New Orleans recently. "It turned out real nice, and I'm real grateful they did that for me," he said as he sat among friends, swapping stories and nibbling on mini-crawfish pies. Before the screening, reissues of his Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and Hall of Fame awards for "Ain't That a Shame" and "Blueberry Hill" were presented to Domino. They were among memorabilia lost or destroyed in Katrina's flooding. Domino's return to the stage at Tipitina's music club in 2007 was a hopeful sign in the city's painstaking recovery. "It was an amazing night," recalled Mary von Kurnatowski, co-founder of the Tipitina's Foundation, the nonprofit organization affiliated with the club. Domino now lives in the New Orleans suburb of Harvey, but often visits his publishing house, an extension of his old home in the Lower 9the. The studio, a classic shotgun double built in the 1930s, was rebuilt after Katrina by the Tipitina's Foundation. It is one of a few refurbished structures in the neighborhood. Footage of Domino walking through his gutted home is included in the documentary, along with a recording session with Robert Plant during the making of the album "Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino" that was recorded last year. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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