THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

617-Fats Domino-The Fat Man.

1949-It has never charted in the UK. There was no UK chart until 1952.

Best Bit-At-1.07.There are many songs in this countdown which can claim to be the first ever ‘proper’ Rock N’ Roll record, but this one may have the best claim, as it is from 1949, even so the term ‘Rock N’ Roll’ hadn’t even been invented then.

‘The Fat Man’ was originally recorded as the ‘B’ side for Fats Domino’s debut single ‘Detroit City Blues,’ the first of over 60 singles Domino would release on the ‘Imperial Records’ label, through until 1964. ‘The Fat Man’ was co-written by Fats Domino, and his long time collaborator Dave Bartholomew, and went on to sell in excess of 1 million copies.The melody is a variation on the traditional New Orleans tune ‘Junker Blues,’ which also provided the melody for the Lloyd Price song ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy,’ from 1952, which was produced by Bartholomew, and had Fats Domino playing the piano on it. ‘The Fat Man’ finds Domino standing on the corner of Rampart and Canal street in New Orleans, watching the Creole girls go by, but he decides to leave because ‘Women and a bad life’ are ‘Carrying this soul away.’Fats Domino (see also best songs 272) was born Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. on February 26th, 1928, in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, he died of natural causes on October 24th, 2017.Although Domino never had a Billboard Number 1 single, five of his songs sold in excess of 1 million copies, in total he achieved 35 top 40 Billboard hits between 1955-1963. It has been said that his humility and shyness is the reason why his contribution to Rock N’ Roll has been to a point overlooked.

Dave Bartholomew was born on December 24th, 1918, in Edgard, Louisiana, he was 100 years old when he died on June 23rd, 2019.As well as co-writing ‘the first ever’ Rock N’ Roll song, and many of the hits of Fats Domino, he is also responsible for the 1955 Billboard Number 1 single ‘Ain’t That a Shame,’ recorded by Pat Boone, and also for three UK Number 1’s. In 1970 Dave Edmunds covered ‘I Hear You Knocking,’ In 1972 Chuck Berry covered ‘My Ding-a-Ling, and in 1958 Elvis Presley recorded ‘One Night,’ which in 2005, when re-released became a UK Number 1 for a second time, and also the 1000 UK Number 1 song, since the charts inception in November 1952.

‘They call, they call me the fat man,’cause I weigh two hundred pounds, all the girls they love me,’cause I know my way around.’