Fats Domino, "Mardi Gras In New Orleans" c/w "Going to the River," Imperial 45-5231 (rel. 3/1953)

 

NEW PODCAST TODAY! See separate post.

Antoine "Fats" Domino's later singles are common records. From "Ain't That a Shame" on, in 1955, Domino broke into the (white) pop mainstream, and his label, Imperial Records, now pressed his singles in the millions rather than the few thousand copies of his first five years in music.

    Most record sellers lump his pre-1955 work--his best by a country mile--in with the more pop-oriented post-'55 material (which does have its charms). Thus, the desirable early Dominoes are relegated to the el cheapo boxes, where knowledgable sorts can ferret them out. Today's disc was priced at 10 cents at a downtown record shop. Bank error in my favor! One of Domino's best early sides is coupled with a big r&b hit that white kids didn't hear until Imperial used it for album filler later in the decade.

    "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" is a cover of a song written by Roy Byrd, best-known as the flamboyant pianist-vocalist Professor Longhair. The original was recorded for Atlantic Records in 1949, just before the classic rhythm and blues style of the 1950s began. Four years later, Black music was almost unrecognizable from where it'd been in 1949. New Orleans was the exception to that rule. Musical styles relaxed for along stay in the Crescent City--treasured modes to be explored time and again.

    Domino's excellent piano kicks off his version of this NOLA anthem, with his whistling for good measure. A percolatin' Latin rhythm moves this side along like a fast freight train rockin' on the tracks. It's over before you know it; one imagines a live performance that might last a few more minutes. Domino's records often err on the side of brevity, but I'm sure this got roadhouse plays as a solid dance number.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7tw4zbmsq1axq9aneynwk/2286a.mp3?rlkey=qdzv4r0rn8lr2htnysn2at0d5&st=o0y55a9z&dl=0

Before the rock 'n' roll era, Cash Box and Billboard often didn't review singles that started out big. "Going to the River" was one. It hit the charts right out of the gate and got to #2 on the r&b lists. It's the perfect specimen of Fats Domino's early style, before he became a harmless pop singer (with rare exceptions).
    This pensive, rolling ballad-with-a-beat has the chipper Domino in a blue, blue mood. He contemplates ending it all in the wake of a wrenching break-up. A driving medium beat, with a simple but compelling drum beat, Domino's rolling piano and a solid sax break, "Going to the River" is one of Domino's finest early sides--one among many contenders. His catalog of 1949-1954 is loaded with New Orleans r&b gems. I'm glad he found mainstream success, but it came at a price; records like this one were frowned upon by his label. They wanted light and happy pop songs with a hint of Black r&b--90-second ditties teenagers could enjoy at sock hops. Fats sold millions of records in that mode, but had to turn his back on tradition to do so.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ro4xto2j29z4wtcmuyedm/2286b.mp3?rlkey=xin0c0d3ukq3zvr9yapa77rw8&st=oy14r493&dl=0

As you can hear, this single is not in pristine condition, and there's some background hiss I couldn't remove without messin' with the music. My goal is to preserve the intended sound of the recording; if I can excise the surface noise, great. But that can't always happen. It adds to the historical experience.

Tomorrow: in the Big Apple, The Coasters deliver a tragicomedy in dialogue that takes place at a men's haberdashery, coupled with a teenage triangle played for sly comedy via a non-hit 1960 Atco release that's become a classic nonetheless.