Paul McCartney posted a heartfelt tribute to his boyhood idol Fats Domino, who died on Tuesday (October 25th) at age 89 on his official website (PaulMcCartney.com). Although covers of Domino’s songs never found their way into the Beatles’ official catalogue, he was an enduring inspiration, with the group’s 1968 McCartney-written single “Lady Madonna,” clearly an homage to the man. Domino returned the favor by covering the song along with “Lovely Rita,” and John Lennon‘s “White Album” classic “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey.” Fats Domino holds an incredibly historic place in Beatles history, with his “Ain’t That A Shame” being the first song John Lennon’s mother Julia taught him on banjo.

Paul McCartney’s official statement on the death of Fats Domino:

Rest in peace Fats Domino, the great rock ’n’ roll pianist and singer who thrilled us in our early days in Liverpool. His hit records like ‘Ain’t That A Shame’, ‘Blueberry Hill’, ‘I’m In Love Again’ and many others introduced us to the sounds of New Orleans rock ‘n’ roll. We were excited to meet Fats once in his home town of New Orleans. He was wearing a huge star spangled diamond encrusted watch which was our first encounter with bling! His voice, piano playing and musical style was a huge influence on us and his appearance in the film The Girl Can’t Help It was truly magnificent. As one of my favourite rock ‘n’ roll singers, I will remember him fondly and always think of him with that twinkle in his eye. I read that he had eight children. He himself was named Antoine. His kids were named Antoine III, Anatole, Andre, Antonio, Antoinette, Andrea, Anola and Adonica. Now that is pure Fats!” – Paul