AP News, June 21st, 2007
Ain't that a shame _ an online charity auction for a piano played and signed by 79-year-old Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer Fats Domino closed Wednesday with no takers.
The piano had been up for an opening bid of $100,000 since June 1.
Unsigned, the baby grand donated by the Baldwin Piano Co. is valued at about $60,000, said Jamie Sylves, a spokeswoman for Charity Folks, the company that hosted the auction on its Web site, http://www.charityfolks.com.
The piano, made from wood harvested in areas that are not environmentally threatened, was among about two dozen autographed instruments at auction in recent weeks for the New Orleans arm of the environmental group Global Green USA. Global Green has been working to rebuild New Orleans with energy-saving materials, such as metal roofing and recycled textiles.
Sylves said the piano auction may be relaunched closer to the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which is Aug. 29.
Final figures were not available, but proceeds from the auction were to benefit environmentally friendly rebuilding efforts in Domino's hurricane-devastated hometown of New Orleans. That includes a project in his own Holy Cross neighborhood in the Lower 9th Ward, launched in 2006 by actor Brad Pitt.
Domino rode out Katrina in his Lower 9th Ward home, which flooded along with 80 percent of New Orleans when Katrina's storm surge broke levees on Aug. 29, 2005.
His home is being rebuilt by the Tipitina's Foundation, which helped scores of musicians find housing and new instruments after the storm. The foundation is working with Elton John, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, B.B. King and others who will record a tribute album of Domino's songs to help rebuild his home and benefit the foundation.
Charity Folks, http://www.CharityFolks.com
Global Green USA, http://www.globalgreen.org
