Rock 'n' roll legend Fats Domino dies at 89

The musician was surrounded by family and friends when he died of natural causes in Louisiana on Tuesday, US media reported.

With a friendly smile and broken voice, Domino sold more than 110 million records and his hits included Blueberry Hill, Ain’t That a Shame and Walking To New Orleans.

He was a heavy influence in the genre and his 1949 track The Fat Man was widely considered to be the first ever rock ‘n’ roll record.

Domino outsold every rock ‘n’ roll artist aside from Elvis Presley, but his fame was never enough to convince him to leave his home town of New Orleans, where he spent most of his life.

He was one of the first 10 musicians inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and his 1956 version of Blueberry Hill was selected for the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry of historic sound recordings worthy of preservation.

One of nine children, Domino was born on 26 February 1928 and taught piano by a brother-in-law.

While still a teenager, he performed in nightclubs before teaming up with trumpet player Dave Bartholomew, who would become his producer and co-writer.

Domino’s music became a huge influence on rockers in the 1950s and 60s. Beatles legend John Lennon once told a radio station that Ain’t That a Shame was the first song he learned to play.

In his later years, Domino rarely performed and stopped recording because companies wanted him to update his style.

“I refused to change,” he told Ebony magazine. “I had to stick to my own style that I’ve always used or it just wouldn’t be me.”

In 2005, Domino was feared dead in Hurricane Katrina but he and his family were rescued from their New Orleans home and taken to a shelter in Baton Rouge.

The singer, who chose to stay at home as his wife Rosemary was in poor health, lost his gold records and National Medal of Arts in the disaster.

The latter was personally replaced by former president George W Bush.

Domino later lent his support to a number of Katrina charity projects and was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2007.