Ain't it a shame - Fats Domino has left this Valley of Tears

I must have first heard a Fats Domino record when I was five or so, which means The Big Beat has kept me rocking in my seat (and on my feet, when nobody's looking) for the best part of 60 years...

I paid homage to the great man in August - Fats Domino: ten rays of aural sunshine from a true rock 'n' roll giant - but, luckily, he left us with many more delightfully sunny, life-affirming classics to remember him by, including, of course, "Blueberry Hill", the most famous of them all:

Then there was the bouncy "All by Myself" (1955):

And the wistful, gentle chug of "I Want to Walk You Home", a UK No.1 in 1959:

"I Hear You Knocking" (1961), which was first recorded by Smiley Lewis, another great New Orleans piano-man:

And, from 1962, "Dance with Mr. Domino" (aka "The Domino Twist"), which I'd forgotten all about:

There was the lovely "It Keeps Rainin'" another Top 20 UK hit in 1961:

And yet another 1961 hit, the jaunty "Let the Four Winds Blow", which reached No.2 here, where the Fat Man was always cherished:

For some odd reason, I distinctly remember sitting in a café in Bergen early one morning with my mother and brother, waiting to board the ferry to England, and hearing "Red Sails in the Sunset" (1963) on the jukebox: 

In 1985, Fats teamed up with Cajun fiddler Doug Kershaw to record a great version of Rockin' Sidney's "My Toot Toot":

I'll end with the beautiful 1957 song, "Valley of Tears", which Fats wrote with his long-time producer and bandleader, Dave Bartholomew:  

Rest in Peace, Antoine "Fats" Domino, because, by God, you've earned the right to. You've made  my world a happier place every time I've heard your inimitable voice and the distinctive cling-cling-cling of your piano - thank you so much.

No, dammit, I can't resist the urge to post - yet again - my all-time favourite Fats Domino number, the happiest noise ever committed to vinyl. I'd be very surprised if Fats wasn't greeted at the Pearly Gates with a big smile and the invitation to "Be My Guest":