Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Fats Domino, who was missing for days after Hurricane Katrina, returned home on Saturday. Sporting a white captain’s hat, gold chain and black galoshes, Domino had a laugh at tributes worried fans had spray-painted on his house after assuming he had died.
“There was a big ‘Rest in Peace’ on my balcony,” the 77-year-old musician said with a laugh. “I’m still here, thank God. I’m alive and kicking.”
Domino’s house “did pretty good,” considering the devastation of the surrounding 9th Ward, he said. Two of his pianos in a bigger, adjoining house were ruined. Only three of his 21 gold records – “Rose Mary,” “I’m Walkin’,” and “Blue Monday” – had been found, Domino said.
Domino and his family had been in Texas but are now staying at a hotel in New Orleans. He said he wanted to be close to the neighborhood he was born in while it rebuilds.