Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino

Artist: Fats Domino
Song: Blueberry Hill
Year: 1956
Album: This Is Fats Domino

Being born in the mid seventies, my first encounter with "Blueberry Hill" would be from Ron Howard's fifties teenager from Happy Days. I didn't think much of it at that time. Mainly because he would only utter the first line when he would get excited about a girl. I always thought it was a catchphrase and a throwaway line.

Then an oldies station popped up in Chicago. I heard this song and many others like it. They repeated the same songs over and over again, so I got to know the songs pretty well. I liked them enough to purchase a twelve cassette series from a local grocery store of early rock n' roll classics.

I really got to know the songs and was able to match them to their artists. I usually didn't find out who sang what because radio stations rarely gave the playlists over the air. They were oldies and it was assumed that you already knew who the artists were or didn't care enough to want to know. That was always a pet peeve of mine, which is why I try to find out who sang what today.

While I always thought of this as a fifties song, I learned that it was a cover of a song from 1940. It just goes to show that everything old is new again. These songs will undoubtedly be discovered by a new generation with no interest in the past and pass it off as one of their own to the young masses. There's just something a little rock n' roll about that.

Lyrics:
I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill
On Blueberry Hill, when I found you
The moon stood still on Blueberry Hill
And lingered until my dreams came true

The wind in the willow played
Love's sweet melody
But all of those vows you made
Were never to be

Though we're apart, you're part of me still
For you were my thrill on Blueberry Hill

The wind in the willow played
Love's sweet melody
But all of those vows we made
Were never to be

Though we're apart, you're part of me still
For you were my thrill on Blueberry Hill

I'm Walkin' - Fats Domino

Artist: Fats Domino
Song: I'm Walkin'
Year: 1957
Album: Here Stands Fats Domino

When I first recall hearing this song, I was five. It was in my favorite movie, The Blues Brothers. It comes in the movie when Cab Calloway is speaking to the orphans. He tells them to put the word on the streets. Then this song comes in.

Even at five years old, my musical tastes were shaping. I absolutely loved anything that involved John Belushi, at that age. I would stay up for SNL, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. I didn't know that he was long gone from the cast at that point. Hey, I was only five.

I watched The Blues Brothers and Continental Divide over and over again. We had all three movie channels. Yes, this is going back some. There were only HBO, Cinemax and Showtime offered on cable at that time. I can remember one evening where The Blues Brothers was on each of the movie channels at the same time. They even started at the exact same time. I remember flipping to each channel and catching the line I had just heard on the previous channel.

Suffice to say, I had the movie memorized. I even knew when to drop the swear words when my parents were within earshot. My parents kept the news of John Belushi's passing from me. I can remember getting into an argument over who sang "Jailhouse Rock" first. Elvis or Joliet Jake. I was five. I was still learning.

"I'm Walkin'" always captured my imagination. I never knew who it was by. I eventually learned that the same guy who sang "Blueberry Hill" and "Ain't That A Shame" sang this song. When I found that out, I was surprised that I hadn't made the connection earlier.

I sought out all the music that was featured in that movie. I was disappointed that "Stand By Your Man" wasn't on the soundtrack. I was ecstatic when I found lost songs that were cut from the movie. The band was also supposed to sing "Sink The Bismark" in that country bunker.

In other posts I will share other musical discoveries from The Blues Brothers movie. For now, it's all about Fats Domino.

Lyrics:
I'm walkin', yes indeed
And I'm talkin'
'Bout you and me
I'm hopin'
That you come back to me
Um-hmm

I'm lonely
As I can be
I'm waiting
For your company
I'm hopin'
That you come back to me

What you gonna do
When the well runs dry?
You gonna run away and hide
I'm gonna run right by your side
For you pretty baby, I'll even die

I'm walkin', yes indeed
And I'm talkin'
'Bout you and me
I'm hopin'
That you come back to me

I'm walkin', yes indeed
And I'm talkin'
'Bout you and me
I'm hopin'
That you come back to me, hee-hee

I'm lonely
As I could be
I'm waiting
For your company
I'm hopin'
That you come back to me

What you gonna do
When the well run dry?
You gonna sit right down and cry
What you gonna do
When I say, 'Bye-bye?'
All you gonna do is dry your eye

I'm walkin', yes indeed
And I'm talkin'
'Bout you and me
I'm hopin'
That you come back to me.