Friday, November 14, 2008

Got my suitcase in my hand....

Fats Domino documentary to air on PBS (AP)

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 hour-long 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. - complete article

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