Legendary performer Fats Domino celebrated his 86th birthday on Wednesday and was honored by his hometown of New Orleans as honorary grand marshal of Mardi Gras' Krewe of Orpheus parade.
Domino, who was a member of the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, will not ride on any floats, but his son, Antoine Domino III, will represent his dad on the float on Lundi Gras, March 3,
reported the Times Picayune.
Domino sang such hits as "Walking to New Orleans," "Blueberry Hill," and "Blue Monday" during the 1950s that made him an international star and a longtime New Orleans favorite.
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"Fats Domino may not have been the most flamboyant rock and roller of the Fifties, but he was certainly the figure most rooted in the worlds of blues, rhythm & blues and the various strains of jazz that gave rise to rock and roll," read
his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame biography.
"With his boogie-woogie piano playing and drawling, Creole-inflected vocals, Antoine 'Fats' Domino Jr. help put his native New Orleans on the map during the early rock and roll era. He was, in fact, a key figure in the transition from rhythm & blues to rock and roll," the biography continued.
Domino was joined in that first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class by Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Ray Charles and the Everly Brothers.
Entertainers took to Twitter to wish Domino a Happy Birthday Wednesday.
Others sent Happy Birthday wishes to
the musical legend's Facebook page.
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