News came over the transom today of the death of the great Antoine “Fats” Domino, making him the second rock’n’roll Founding Father to pass on this year (after Chuck Berry, DOD 3/18/2017).
By my count, that leaves just Little Richard (age 84) and Jerry Lee Lewis (82). (It was Jerry Lewis, not Jerry Lee, who died in August.) Who will be the last man standing? Based on recent video evidence, Richard seems to be fading:
Whereas Jerry Lee still looks pretty lively:
But you never know…Richard was on deathwatch last year, but rallied and is still making the rounds. Hopefully they will both stick around for awhile; it will be a sad day indeed when rock’s dinosaurs no longer walk the Earth.
As a dinosaur myself, I’ve never forgotten the 1st “Rock & Roll Show” I attended at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA, in about 1957. Put together by Georgie Woods, DJ on WDAS-AM, it featured Fats, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis–plus the Platters & others–all the dinosaurs! Back then not only was the music revolutionary, but also that black & white folks were mixed together on stage & in the audience.