Ain't that a shame

Fats Domino was one of the legendary Rock n Roll greats, but many were surprised to hear of his death in 2017 because they were sure he died earlier. They have an alternative memory of this happening sometime between 2009 and 2011. 

The supposed death of Fats earlier than 2017 might have an explanation. It's said during hurricane Katrina he refused to leave New Orleans, and when he withdrew from public life for a while afterwards some would have assumed he'd died.

The reports of famous people "dying again" always cause a commotion, and make people wonder if were it not purely for the timing, we'd be talking today about the Domino Effect, for example?

Elvis called him The King

It's well documented that Fats was a close friend of Elvis Presley over the years, and the reason Elvis hated being called "The King", since he believed Fats himself was the true King of Rock n Roll. He had 13 children. His first name was actually Antoine and he was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1928. Despite selling over 65 million records, unlike his fellow wild rock 'n rollers of the day, he was a very shy and humble individual, preferring to avoid the limelight where possible. He was the first rock /n roll star to sell 1 million records, with The Fat Man in 1949, which entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015. The name Fats came from a club owner who payed him $3 a week to play piano at his bar, when he was 14, because he reminded him of two other pianists, Fats Waller and Fats Pichon.  He also apparently had a huge appetite :-)

Fats appeared in several movies, including Shake, Rattle & Rock!, The Girl Can't Help It and American Bandstand.

The rumour he died during Hurricane Katrina wasn't helped by someone spraying "RIP Fats. You will be missed." on the remains of his house.