Fats Domino’s famous house post-Katrina. The grafitti plastered across his roof was an iconic image during the aftermath of the storm, and a symbol of hope when Fats was found alive.
Fats Domino House
Matt Marshall
Matt Marshall is the original publisher of American Blues Scene and owns Bluescentric.com the shop for Blues, Soul, and Rock n Roll -- authentic music t-shirts where every sale pays artist's estates directly.
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If you look to the right of this house you will notice the red brick double. It is 1212 and 1214 Caffin Ave. I lived in this house. The abouve house was my step uncle’s. It was a double. His family lived there. Before Katrina Fat’s bought both houses from us. He converted the house into a camel back for his offices and a place to cook at. He loves to cook. The house he lived in is on the corner, to the left of this house. I’m not sure if it’s finished being renovated.
During Hurrican Betsy his uncle and brother were there while he was in Vegas on the road. The first flood hit and there was a bit more than four feet of water in the house. My cousins and I were kids and we brought Fat’s uncle and brother stuff to eat and drink. Also some coal and a bar-b-q pitt to cook in. His big hous was all electric.
When we were kids we played in the back yards of the two houses and listened to Fat’s rehearsing his tunes. We played and had live music from Fat’s. He would open the balcony sliding glass door on the inside of the house next to our yard and we could hear evereything.
I had no idea Fats didn’t get out for Katrina and was stuck in a flooded house or I wohld have got him out myself.
-The Professor
MusicByPossum@aol.com
Professor, that is pretty amazing!! I couldn’t imagine being able to hear someone so powerful as Fats playing all the time.
We were little kids. We never gave it a second thought. Hearing Fats rehearsing live was normal for us most of the time when he wasn’t on the road or in Vegas. Lee Dorsey was two blocks away. When we moved to Chalmette, we sold both houses to Fats. That’s when he made the wooden double into a camelback. He uses if for his music publishing business and a hang out for his friends. Something most of the world doesn’t know about Fats. He loves to cook. When he was in the main house on the corner he would upset his wife because his friends would hang out, and he would smell the house up cooking great things. When he bought the two houses he used ours,
( the brick double ) with the apartment in back for relatives to live in. He used the one you see most of, the wooden double to cook in, and for friends to hang out and enjoy the food he cooks. His wife was very happy becuase she had great things to eat without the house being overloaded with cooking smells and old guys smoking cigars, burping, and carrying on. In the lower 9th ward there were many performers from that time period who made music in New Orleans famous.
Is Fats living there again?
YES! He’s been living there for quite some time since the storm!