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78 RPM



78 RPM Record

Artist:Fats Domino
Label:  Imperial
Country:USA
Catalogue:5058
Date:Jan 1950
Format:10"
Collection:  I Own It     I Want It 
Community: 5 Own, 6 Want
Price Guide:$306
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PRICE GUIDE
$306


TrackArtistTitleComposerRating
AFats DominoDetroit City BluesBartholomew, Domino7.0  Rate
BFats DominoThe Fat ManBartholomew, Domino10.0  Rate


Notes

A mx: IM-132; B mx: IM-133.
Recorded New Orleans, LA, December 10, 1949.

Images


[ +1 more ]


Comments and Reviews
 
sparker
19th Feb 2021
 About the timing of Fat Man: The label reads 2:33 but we used a stopwatch to time the record and the playing time from first to last note is 2:41. The 2019 Bear Family box has a track length of 2:44 in order to put a few seconds of silence between successive tracks. (I am one of the producers of the box.)
Detroit City Blues is listed at 2:35 on the label but runs 2:30 timed with a stopwatch.
So the numbers printed on the labels are not accurate guides to record length.
One interesting mystery is how Imperial decided what time to put on the label. They surely didn't do what we did -- clock them carefully from first note to last

.
 
 
ausfan100
31st Dec 2020
 It appears that the Imperial 78 of "The Fat Man" was recorded with a running time of 2:44, although the record label shows 2:33. All reissues of the song on vinyl and CD time out at 2:33, although Bear Family's 2019 Fats box set "I've Been Around" has it at 2:44.

Can anyone confirm the original 78 is the only medium where the song is running at the correct 2:44 speed and all subsequent issues have been sped up? Thanks.
 
 
xiphophilos
3rd Feb 2018
 I agree, the Jan. 14, 1950 ad shows clearly that "Detroit Blues" was the intended A side and pushed as such by Imperial's PR people. Amazing how often they guessed wrong what would be the big seller, isn't it? Anyway, I have changed the track order above.



Detroit City
It was the finest in this world
Yes, Detroit City
It was the finest in this world
I'm crazy 'bout that city
And I love its pretty girls
When you leave that city
And you feel this kind of love
When you leave that city
And you feel this kind of love,
Just one goes out hasty
And you find a good place to go.
You don't need a lot of money
To have a real good time,
You don't need a lot of money
To have a real good time.
Just be a real good sport,
And everything will turn out fine.



They call, they call me the fat man
'Cause I weight two hundred pounds
All the girls they love me
'Cause I know my way around
I was standin', I was standin' on the corner
Of Rampart and Canal
I was watchin', watchin'
Watchin' all these creole gals.
Wah wah wah, wah wah
Wah wah waah, wah wah wah
Wah wah waah, wah wah wah
Wah waah wah
Wah wah wah, wah wah wah
Wah wah wah, wah wah wah
Wah wah wah
I'm goin', I'm goin' goin' away
And I'm goin', goin' to stay
'Cause women and a bad life
They're carrying this soul away
 
 
deezee
3rd Feb 2018
 This is of course the first release by Fats but is listed third.

Since fixbutte's comments citing the Jan 21 ad, RadioAl has added an even earlier ad from Jan 14. Here, it becomes absolutely clear that "Detroit City Blues" was intended as the A-Side but it was immediately turned over by the jocks and took off. I have also read this elsewhere but the ad proves it. I guess this is the way we list it? There's many more examples of this.

Neil Forbes is confused by the master numbers as opposed to control numbers. Being real master numbers, they provide no clue to intended A & B sides. See comments for Fats' 5085, listed above this record, which discusses more on that common misunderstanding.
 
 
fatsfan
24th Sep 2017
 https://www.facebook.com/officialFATSDominoFANSITE/
 
 
laviolet
1st Sep 2015
 Yes, "The Fat Man" is far from high fidelity, but unfortunately it's in the grooves. Here's Rick Coleman's description of the six-hour session of December 10, 1949: "Domino hammered the piano and shouted his theme song ... Crammed next to the baby grand were drummer Earl Palmer, bassist Frank Fields, and guitarist Ernest McLean. The rhythm section strained to be heard over the shattering din of the piano. A lathe-like turntable plowed wax ... engraving the distorted sound for posterity. ... In the small studio with no baffles between the musicians, a good sound mix was difficult to attain." Imperial boss Lew Chudd wanted to re-record the song, but acetates were already being played on radio. "Detroit City Blues," a more conventional song, was probably easier to record. By the way, the book is excellent.
 
 
llpiper
5th Mar 2015
 Every reissue I have heard of "The Fat Man" is distorted, noisy, and sounds like it was taken from a worn needle drop. Not so for "Detroit City Blues" which has had several clean reissues. Did Imperial or their successors lose the master for The Fat Man?
 
 
fixbutte
5th Mar 2015
 Though we can't be sure if "The Fat Man" was originally intended as the A-side, it was announced as that in a very early distributor ad in The Billboard magazine of Jan 21, 1950 ("THE FAT MAN" backed by "Detroit City Blues") that I have uploaded here. Only a few weeks later, it entered Billboard's national R&B chart (Most-Played Juke Box R&B Records), peaking at #2 for a couple of weeks.
 
 
Neil Forbes
5th Mar 2015
 If Detroit City Blues has matrix #IM-132, and The Fat Man has matrix #IM-133, logically this makes The Fat Man, the B-side of the disc.
 
 
fixbutte
5th Mar 2015
 Merged the new "Canadian" entry, submitted by boogiecam, to this one, quoting his deleted remarks here:
boogiecam wrote:
The Fat Man - Fats Domino's first major hit, and what some historians have called the first rock'n' roll record.
(A Side Image Description)
boogiecam wrote:
B-side of The Fat Man, Detroit City Blues. This disc went on to sell a million copies by 1953.
(B Side Image Description)
boogiecam wrote:
In addition to the catalogue number, the label A-side also has "im133" on it. This is also etched into the matrix track. The B-side has "im132" on it, and again, this is etched into the run-out track
(Record Notes)
 
 
laviolet
8th Nov 2014
 Cosimo Matassa, at whose studio this historic record was made, passed away in September 2014 at 88.
 

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