Linda Edition Mapper
▶ Fats Domino

Ain't That a Shame

Fats Domino (1955) → Cheap Trick (1978)

Early R&B
→
Hard Rock / Power Pop
1955 — The year Fats Domino released a foundational New Orleans R&B anthem
Original
Fats Domino — 1955

Early R&B

Released in 1955 and topping the R&B charts, Fats Domino's recording established New Orleans piano rhythm as a rock standard. Rolling piano triplets and a warm baritone pushed the city's shuffle into rock and roll's foundation. Pat Boone immediately delivered a sanitized traditional pop cover for white middle-class audiences that hit No. 1 on the pop charts — which Domino famously turned into a joke about his royal royalties.

Now playing
After
Cheap Trick — 1978

Hard Rock / Power Pop

Two decades later, following John Lennon's roots-tribute cover, Cheap Trick permanently redefined the track on their live album 'Cheap Trick at Budokan' (1978), transforming its relaxed shuffle into a roaring, guitar-driven hard rock anthem. The frenzy at Nippon Budokan cemented it as an arena-rock staple worldwide.

Fats Domino's foundational New Orleans R&B anthem, whitewashed into a pop hit by Pat Boone, and ultimately resurrected as an arena-rock powerhouse by Cheap Trick at Budokan.

From original to redefined

What to listen for

Fats Domino's foundational New Orleans R&B anthem, whitewashed into a pop hit by Pat Boone, and ultimately resurrected as an arena-rock powerhouse by Cheap Trick at Budokan.

  • Shuffle to hard rock

    The relaxed New Orleans shuffle becomes a thunderous arena-shaking hard rock arrangement with distorted guitars and heavy drums

  • Reversing the whitewash

    A reclamation of roots by 70s rock musicians, reversing the 1950s commercial pop sanitization by Pat Boone

  • Budokan to anthem

    Capturing the live frenzy at Nippon Budokan, elevating 1950s R&B into a power pop / hard rock anthem

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