Coming to PBS’s American Masters and to DVD today, Friday, February 26: THE BIG BEAT: FATS DOMINO AND THE BIRTH OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL
Joe Lauro’s ode to the music legend made its bow at the New Orleans Film Festival in 2014. The doc also screened at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Sound + Vision series last year. Its broadcast debut and simultaneous DVD release are timed to coincide with Domino’s 88th birthday.
Despite his success as a best-selling recording artist in the 1950s and ’60s, Fats Domino hasn’t been afforded the same lofty standing as fellow early rock ‘n’ roll performers like Elvis Presley or Jerry Lee Lewis, argues Lauro. Rather than wait until his death for a reappraisal, the director offers this appreciative overview of the musician’s life and career as a welcome reminder of his accomplishments. While Domino is now living in retirement in his beloved hometown of New Orleans, his interviews here are limited to archival footage, though Lauro does include somewhat recent home video footage from 2010. This breezy film recounts the path to Domino’s success in a segregated America, paying particular attention to his fruitful partnership with producer and songwriter Dave Bartholomew, and offers a variety of performance clips that showcase his prodigious talent.
what (not) to doc 