I have been selling on Ebay since 1999. I also sold antiques and collectibles at the OLD COMMUNITY ANTIQUE MALL in Pass Christian, Mississippi. I've always been a treasure hunter weather it be at yard sales, thrift stores, or old attics. It's fun and I enjoy it.

Well, one day I decided to make the climb up into the old attic of this small house I was living in. There were several boxes scattered about. Old pictures, letters, cards, and a few records. I found an autographed promo picture of Jerry Lee Lewis. He looked to be about 20 years old. It was inscribed to Pee Wee. I found a large framed studio portrait of Jimmy Donley and a few of his records. Some 45's on the Tear Drop Label; one song was called Strange Feeling. There was an album cover of Jimmy's but no record. In a different picture frame there were two royalties checks made out to Pee Wee Maddux. One was a  photo copy from the early 60's for a couple thousand dollars, the other check was the actual check from the 70's and the amount on that check was for only a few cents.  In between the two checks was typed "The Long and the Short of It". 

Then, there were these two pictures of Fats Domino. I recognized him immediately. One he is standing next to his Cadillac convertible and looks like it was made in the 9th ward neighborhood of New Orleans, LA. The other photo is of Fats and Pee Wee Maddux.

This little cottage had survived hurricane Cammile and I had stumbled into a time capsule of memorabilia from the early years of rock and roll music.  I certainly knew who Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino were. But, I wondered who is this Jimmy Donley and Pee Wee Maddux? I would later learn that they were from the Gulfport area and had  co-wrote a few songs together with Fats Domino in the early 60's. Pee Wee was a song writer and promoter. Jimmy was a song writer, performer, and recording artist. There is a biography out about Jimmy's life. It's called Born To Be A Loser.

Not long after that I put the Jerry Lee Lewis photo, and the Fats Domino pictures up for auction on Ebay. A few days later I received an email from Rick Coleman concerning the Fats pictures. He said he was writing a book about Fats Domino and asked if he could have copies of them to possibly be used in his forth coming book called BLUE MONDAY. I was very surprised and excited about this opportunity. I had grew up listening to my uncle play Fats songs on or old upright piano. I agreed and sent him copies of the pictures and signed the necessary paper work for he and his publishers to use the pictures.

After all this excitement I decided not to sell the pictures. I wanted to keep this little piece of rock and roll history for myself. Bye the way, the Jerry Lee Lewis picture sold for about $90. I took the Fats pictures, email print outs from Rick, and my copy of the consent form and put them away in my fire safe where I kept my other important papers. As the months passed  I wondered when the book would come out and if my Fats pictures would make it into the book.  I think the original release date was spring of 2005, but learned that book deal fell through.  More waiting and wondering.

The fall  of 2004 I evacuated my home due to hurricane Ivan. When I evacuated for Ivan I took everything that I could fit in my car. You couldn't have fit another pair of socks in that car it was so loaded down. I headed to my mother's house for safe haven in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Hurricane Ivan bluffed me. My little house was safe and sound.

August 28, 2005. Mandatory Evacuation. I evacuated my home due to the approaching hurricane Katrina. All that I took with me was a suitcase of cloths, a box of family photos, and my fire safe. Off to Clarksdale again. From a safe distance I watched hurricane Katrina make landfall thanks to The Weather Channel, Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and my favorite,  Anderson Cooper.

August 29, 2005 was Blue Monday indeed! The destruction and debris along the 2nd Street neighborhood was so much that it was about a week before I learned that my little house was gone. Nothing but a slab left. Like so many others; everything I owned was suddenly gone. I've had the blues ever since. But that's another story.

The days following Katrina I was glued to the TV watching news reports. Some people were wondering if Fats Domino had made it out of New Orleans safely. No one had heard from him. He had stayed at his home during the hurricane. Then, I saw on the news that he had survived and was rescued by boat. I was glad that he was ok.

After I found out that I had no house to return to I decided to stay here in the Mississippi Delta near my family and far from the dangers of hurricanes. I rented an apartment in Tunica. I had to start over from nothing. I bought a few pieces of furniture and other essential items. Well, after living there for just a few months I realized I had landed in the wrong place. After all, the apartments were located in the middle of a cotton field and the only other thing Tunica had to offer were casinos. I decided I would move into the city...Memphis. During this transition I had to put what few things I had accumulated into a storage unit. Everything except for the fire safe. I would need to keep that with me for easy access to important papers and documents concerning insurance and FEMA.  I put the safe behind the seat of the truck I was driving. Afterwards, I went out to eat at a restaurant not far off Beale Street. When I returned to my truck I found the drivers window had been busted out. The fire safe was gone along with all my important personal papers and the Fats Domino pictures. The original ones I had found in the attic. My heart sank. After all I had been through. Talk about feeling Blue! Thankfully, I had given my mother digital copies of them. At least I still had those.  And, of course, Rick had copies too. I hope the person who busted that window out and stole that fire safe got it open. There was something else in there too; my rosary beads. I wonder what they thought about that? 

I never did move into Memphis. I'm still in Clarksdale. I was born here  and grew up here so in essence I am home.  Although, the last 25 years I have lived on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Now, I'm living just a couple miles down the road from where Muddy Waters cabin once stood. Bye the way, legendary blues artist  Robert Johnson says that he sold his soul to the Devil at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 61 and U.S. Highway 49 in Clarksdale, Mississippi in exchange for his prowess in playing the guitar. Clarksdale and the Delta region claim to be the birthplace of Blues music. A few years ago actor Morgan Freeman opened a really cool blues club here called Ground Zero. A must for Juke Joint Junkies! I love it.

In May 2006 I did a Google search and learned that the book was finally published... Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock and Roll by Rick Coleman. Well, as you can imagine I was very anxious to find out if my Fats pictures had made it into the book.  I drove the 60 miles up Hwy 61 from Clarksdale to Memphis to find a Barnes and Noble Bookstore.  Finally, I had the book in my hands. I slowly thumbed through the picture pages. My pictures were not in there! I wondered why they didn't make it. I was a little disappointed to say the least. However, to my surprise I found my name listed in the back of the book in the Acknowledgements. "Other music friends who helped.....Eddie Hillman..."  I immediately sent Rick an email thanking him for including my name in the Acknowledgements. It is an honor and I'm very grateful. I read BLUE MONDAY and it is really fascinating. All music history fans should read it. Rick did an outstanding job.

So, there you have it. My short story of how my name got in the Fats Domino book and some of the history about the photos that didn't. I offer this auction for personal reasons and for reasons that maybe only Andy Warhol would understand.  Also,  for Rock and Roll music fans, Fats Domino fans, Pop Culture fans, for collectors of Rock and Roll memorabilia, and for collectors of stories. Remember, these are personal candid photos; Un-circulated and Unpublished. Had I not found them that day in that old attic they would have been lost forever to a hurricane called Katrina. The most destructive natural disaster in the history of the United States of America.

Eddie Hillman