Irma Thomas

A Portion of the Proceeds For The Night Will Benefit New Orleans Musicians' Clinic. To donate directly, or for more ways to show your support, please visit: https://neworleansmusiciansclinic.org/ A Tribute to The Instigators of Funk and Rock ‘n Roll: Antoine "Fats" Domino & Huey “Piano” Smith is the fifth installment of tributes presented by Tipitina’s and produced by Sonny Schneidau (The Professor Longhair 100th Birthday Tribute, With You in Mind: A Tribute to The Songbook of Allen Toussaint, The Tribute to Dr. John, & Covered in Earl: A Tribute to Earl King). Returning as Musical Director for the evening will be George Porter, Jr. with performances by Irma Thomas, Deacon John, Jon Cleary, Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph, Al “Lil Fats” Jackson, Charlie Gabriel, James Andrews, Stanton Moore, Tommy McLain, C.C. Adcock, and River Eckert. Our “House Band” for the evening will include David Torkanowsky, Kyle Roussel, Chris Adkins, Terrence Houston, Roger Lewis, Tony Dagradi, Brad Walker, Tracy Griffin, Jeff Albert, Phillip Manuel, & Jolynda “Kiki” Chapman. The MC for the night will be Gwen Thompkins (Music Inside Out). Antoine "Fats" Domino A pioneer of rock ‘n roll music with a career spanning over five decades, Fats Domino produced 25 gold singles, sold more than 65 million records, and was a charter member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. John Lennon said “There wouldn’t have been a Beatles without Fats Domino” and Elvis described him as "the real king of rock 'n' roll." He loved his hometown New Orleans and always remained a humble man with a smile that lit up a room. His last public performance was at Tipitina’s in May 2007. Huey “Piano” Smith Huey “Piano” Smith, made far-reaching contributions to the New Orleans music scene as a songwriter, pianist, and producer. Smith taught himself to play boogie-woogie piano and was strongly influenced by the New Orleans master Professor Longhair. He performed at Tipitina’s in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His two-fisted keyboard style and rambunctious songs made a significant impact on rock and roll history. Dr. John credited him with “opening the door to funk, basically as we know it, in some ridiculously hip way, and putting it in the mainstream of the world’s music.”