Fats Domino Back in New Orleans

10/17/2005 3:09 PM, E! Online


Fats Domino proved you can go home again. You just might not like what you see.

The rock 'n' roll pioneer returned to his New Orleans home Saturday for the first time since evacuating in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, only to find his house and most of his personal belongings unsalvageable.

Mud, debris, mold and mildew filled the 77-year-old's Lower Ninth Ward home, the result of tainted floodwaters passing through in the days following the storm. WWL-TV, which arranged the visit, reported that at one point, the water in Domino's home reached well over eight feet.

Just three of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's 21 gold records were found in the rubble--"Rose Mary," "I'm Walkin'," and "Blue Monday." His white grand piano had been flipped over and broken by the flood. Another prized keyboard was thrashed and beyond saving.

Domino and son-in-law Charles Brimmer were able to salvage some jewelry, including a gold ring, in one of the rock 'n' roller's adjoining houses, as well as a favorite shirt and an unbroken bust. But more sentimental items, including the pianos, the gold records and a picture of Domino with Elvis Presley, proved "too messed up, we couldn't salvage it."

But all in all, Domino said his house "did pretty good," especially considering the scope of devastation around it.

The entertainer himself also did pretty good. He had been feared dead in the days after the hurricane after family members couldn't contact him and reported him missing.

A spray-painted message on the side of his balcony read: "R.I.P. Fats. You will be missed."

"There was a big 'Rest in Peace' on my balcony on the other house," the boogie-woogie great told WWL-TV. "I'm still here, thank God. I'm alive and kicking.

"I sure do appreciate that people think so much about me.

A rescue boat plucked Domino and his wife from their second-floor balcony shortly after the flood hit. They were then taken to the Super Dome, where they were able to reunite with the rest of their family before being bussed to Louisiana State University. Once there, they met up with a "friend of a friend," LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell, and stayed, alongside 20 other people, in Russell's off-campus for three nights, before taking off again.

The Fat Man and his family are currently staying at a hotel in New Orleans to be close to the neighborhood he was born in while it rebuilds.

"I don't know what to do, move somewhere else or something," Domino said. "But I like it down here."

Domino is scheduled to play a concert Nov. 5 in Baton Rouge ("if I'm feeling better) and is considering whether to release a record he made about two years ago called Alive and Kicking.

He is also among the more than two dozen artists contributing tracks to Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now. The all-star double-disc album will benefit victims of Katrina and Rita and will be released next month. Aside from Domino, there will be contributions from Coldplay, James Brown, Norah Jones, Brian Wilson, Dave Matthews, Elton John, John Fogerty, Sting, John Mayer, the Neville Brothers, Ringo Starr, Mary J. Blige, Gwen Stefani, Andrea Bocelli, Harry Connick Jr., Eric Benét, Michael McDonald, Wynonna Judd, Barbra Streisand, Bonnie Raitt, Clint Black, City Beneath the Sea, Kirk Whalum, Coolio and even Louis Armstrong.