Goin’ Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino!  This double CD tribute was just released this week, and it’s just chocked full of great tunes, many of which bring back some great childhood memories. I can remember digging the rhythm of “Blueberry Hill” and “I’m Walkin” at Grandma’s house.  My Mom and her Mother both loved rhythm and blues music like Fats Domino & Ray Charles.

Cool thing about this album is the great cast of musical artists, brass bands and choirs, and none of them really sound like themselves. It’s as if these tunes transform each artist into a willing channel for the great Fats Domino to celebrate his legendary R&B music.

“Ain’t That a Shame” John Lennon
“I’m Walkin” Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
“Goin’ Home” B.B. King with Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk
“Blueberry Hill” Elton John
“I Want To Walk You Home” Paul McCartney featuring Allen Toussaint
“I’m In Love Again/All By Myself” Bonnie Raitt & Jon Cleary
“It Keeps Rainin” Robert Plant with Lil’ Band o’ Gold
“Walking To New Orleans” Neil Young
“The Fat Man” Los Lobos

What a pleasant surprise to stumble upon this great tribute album while browsing the new Amazon MP3 digital music store. This beta has a big selection of over 2.3 million DRM-free MP3 songs, some as low as 89 cents, but most tracks are 99 cents. But you can download them to any player that’s compatible with MP3’s, because there’s no embedded digital rights management. I think there’s only two labels participating right now, with EMI in the lead, but I’m sure all the majors will line up to get online, as soon as this digital store really catches on.

AmazonMP3 Store

The Tipitina’s Foundation and Vanguard Records have released the tribute to long standing New Orleans resident Antoine “Fats” Domino as an ambitious fundraiser to restore the Lower 9th Ward and also to support local musicians.

Keith Spera has a great in-depth blog posted at The Times-Picayune.