on Blueberry Hill
Celebrities die all the time. However, I expect them to die of old age or drug overdose or dramatic accident. I do not expect them to get whisked away in flood waters just like regular people. In the wake of Katrina, a number of musicians are missing, among them Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Fats Domino, famous for songs including “On Blueberry Hill” and “Ain’t That A Shame.” The 76-year-old Domino told his agent that he wanted to wait the storm out at home, but hasn’t been heard from in several days. Also missing is Irma Thomas, who sang the original version of “Time is on My Side.”
Perhaps the reason death by hurricane seems so inappropriate for a celebrity is that it’s a lot of people dying all at once. Celebrities are supposed to be special. They’re the people we, as a culture, watch on a regular basis. Dying among hundreds or perhaps thousands of regular people in a natural disaster seems to be the very antithesis of stardom — even if it is tragic, it seems common.