Antoine “Fats” Domino passed away at age 89 on Tuesday, October 25th in his home.

The late New Orleans native is commonly known as the pioneer of rock and roll with his popular hits “Blueberry Hill” and “Ain’t that a Shame”. He started playing in bars at 14 and continued to make a name for himself in the music industry, continuing to perform well into his 80s.

The pianist played an enormous role in making New Orleans the music scene that it is known for today. A quick scroll through Twitter, and you can see the impact he had on so many musicians’ lives, as well as those of the general public.

LL Cool J wrote, “He paved the way for so many.”

However, this impact sadly seems to have not reached a substantial portion of the younger generations today.

Despite his 23 gold records, when asked about the legendary musician’s death, sophomores Lily Krug and Nellie Birnbaum responded with, “Who?” This was a pretty common reaction of many other iSchool students when his death was brought up.

Even Andre Eisenberg, an iSchool musician and news enthusiast, seemed to have an extremely vague knowledge of the icon. The junior stated, “Sounds familiar,” then a few moments later, “Oh yeah. The pianist.” He didn’t know much else.

This should act as a wake up call to all. Whether you’ve ever heard of Domino or not, this is the kind of history people should know. “It is so important to know the pioneers of music, of anything really. He [Domino] was such a talented, influential man. It is sad to see him buried in history and forgotten by a lot of high schoolers,” English teacher Katherine Coughlin stated.

With the recent opinions about “remembering our history”, saving statues with confederate meanings should not be our main focus. Saving the memory of people like Fats Domino should.

An extremely popular genre would not be here today with this man.

So listen to his music. Read about his life. The significance of people of the past extends beyond politicians. Learn where your music comes from.