Fats Waller

Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an
Fats Waller
American jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer. His
innovations in the Harlem stride style laid the groundwork for modern jazz piano.
His best-known compositions, "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose", were
inducted into the Grammy Hall of Famein 1984 and 1999.[1]

Contents
Early life
Career
Personal life
Death and descendants
Revival and awards
In popular culture
Waller in 1938
Key recordings
Background information
Filmography
Birth name Thomas Wright
See also
Waller
References
Born May 21, 1904
Further reading
New York, New
External links
York, U.S.
Died December 15, 1943
Early life (aged 39)
Kansas City,
Waller was the youngest of 11 children (five of whom survived childhood) born to Missouri, U.S.
Adeline Locket Waller, a musician, and the Reverend Edward Martin Waller in New
Genres Dixieland, jazz,
York City.[2] He started playing the piano when he was six and graduated to playing
swing, stride,
the organ at his father's church four years later. His mother instructed him in his
ragtime
youth, and he attended other music lessons, paying for them by working in a grocery
store.[2] Waller attended DeWitt Clinton High School for one semester, but left Occupation(s) Musician,
school at 15 to work as an organist at the Lincoln Theater in Harlem, where he composer
earned $32 a week.[3][4] Within 12 months he had composed his first rag. He was the Instruments Piano, vocals,
prize pupil and later the friend and colleague of the stride pianist James P. organ
Johnson.[5]

Waller's first recordings, "Muscle Shoals Blues" and "Birmingham Blues", were made in October 1922 for Okeh Records.[6] That
year, he also made his first player piano roll, "Got to Cool My Doggies Now."[6] Waller's first published composition, "Squeeze Me,"
was published in 1924.[2]

Career
Waller became one of the most popular performers of his era, finding critical and commercial success in the United States and
Europe. He was also a prolific songwriter, and many songs he wrote or co-wrote are still popular, such as "Honeysuckle Rose",[7]
"Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Squeeze Me". Fellow pianist and composer Oscar Levant dubbed Waller "the black Horowitz".[8] Waller is
believed to have composed many novelty tunes in the 1920s and 1930s and sold them for small sums,[9] attributed to another
composer and lyricist.

Standards attributed to Waller, sometimes controversially, include "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby". Biographer Barry
Singer conjectured that this jazz classic was written by W
aller and lyricist Andy Razaf and provided a description of the sale given by
Waller to the New York Post in 1929—he sold the song for $500 to a white songwriter, ultimately for use in a financially successful
show (consistent with Jimmy McHugh's contributions to Harry Delmar’s Revels, 1927, and then to Blackbirds of 1928).[9][10] He
further supports the conjecture, noting that early handwritten manuscripts in the Dana Library Institute of Jazz Studies of "Spreadin'
Rhythm Around" (Jimmy McHugh ©1935) are in Waller's hand.[9][11] Jazz historian Paul S. Machlin comments that the Singer
conjecture has "considerable [historical] justification".[12] Waller's son Maurice wrote in his 1977 biography of his father that Waller
had once complained on hearing the song, and came from upstairs to admonish him never to play it in his hearing because he had had
to sell it when he needed money. Maurice Waller's biography similarly notes his father's objections to hearing "On the Sunny Side of
the Street" playing on the radio.[13] Waller recorded "I Can't Give You…" in 1938, playing the tune but making fun of the lyrics; the
Y in 1928.[14]
recording was with Adelaide Hall who had introduced the song to the world at Les Ambassadeurs Club in New ork

The anonymous sleeve notes on the 1960 RCA Victor album Handful of Keys state that Waller copyrighted over 400 songs, many of
them co-written with his closest collaborator, Andy Razaf. Razaf described his partner as "the soul of melody... a man who made the
piano sing... both big in body and in mind... known for his generosity... a bubbling bundle of joy". Gene Sedric, a clarinetist who
played with Waller on some of his 1930s recordings, is quoted in these sleeve notes recalling Waller's recording technique with
considerable admiration: "Fats was the most relaxed man I ever saw in a studio, and so he made everybody else relaxed. After a
balance had been taken, we'd just need one take to make a side, unless it was a kind of dif
ficult number."

Waller played with many performers, from Nathaniel Shilkret (on

You Got Everything A Sweet Mama
Victor 21298-A) and Gene Austin to Erskine Tate, Fletcher Needs But Me
Henderson, McKinney's Cotton Pickers and Adelaide Hall, but his
0:00
greatest success came with his own five- or six-piece combo, "Fats
Waller and his Rhythm". You Got Everything a Sweet Mama
Needs But Me, sung by Sara
On one occasion his playing seemed to have put him at risk of injury. Martin, with piano accompaniment
by Waller in 1922.
Waller was kidnapped in Chicago leaving a performance in 1926.
Four men bundled him into a car and took him to the Hawthorne Inn,
Problems playing this file? See media help.
owned by Al Capone. Waller was ordered inside the building, and
found a party in full swing. Gun to his back, he was pushed towards a 'tain't Nobody's Bus'ness If I Do
piano, and told to play. A terrified Waller realized he was the "surprise
0:00
guest" at Capone's birthday party, and took comfort that the gangsters
did not intend to kill him. It is rumored that Waller stayed at the 'tain't Nobody's Bus'ness if I Do,
sung by Sara Martin, with piano
Hawthorne Inn for three days and left very drunk, extremely tired, and
accompaniment by Waller, 1922.
had earned thousands of dollars in cash from Capone and other party-
goers as tips.[15] Problems playing this file? See media help.

In 1926, Waller began his recording association with the Victor Talking Machine Company/RCA Victor, his principal record
company for the rest of his life, with the organ solos "St. Louis Blues" and his own composition, "Lenox Avenue Blues". Although he
recorded with various groups, including Morris's Hot Babes (1927), Fats Waller's Buddies (1929) (one of the earliest multiracial
groups to record), and McKinney's Cotton Pickers (1929), his most important contribution to the Harlem stride piano tradition was a
series of solo recordings of his own compositions: "Handful of Keys", "Smashing Thirds", "Numb Fumblin'", and "Valentine Stomp"
(1929). After sessions with Ted Lewis (1931), Jack Teagarden (1931) and Billy Banks' Rhythmakers (1932), he began in May 1934
the voluminous series of recordings with a small band known as Fats Waller and his Rhythm. This six-piece group usually included
Herman Autrey (sometimes replaced byBill Coleman or John "Bugs" Hamilton), Gene Sedric or Rudy Powell, and Al Casey.
Waller wrote "Squeeze Me" (1919), "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now", "Ain't Misbehavin'" (1929), "Blue Turning Grey Over You",
"I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling" (1929), "Honeysuckle Rose" (1929) and "Jitterbug Waltz" (1942). He composed stride piano display
pieces such as "Handful of Keys", "Valentine Stomp" and "Viper's Drag".

He enjoyed success touring the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1930s, appearing on one of the first BBC television broadcasts on
September 30, 1938.[16] While in Britain, Waller also recorded a number of songs forEMI on their Compton Theatre organ located in
their Abbey Road Studios in St John's Wood. He appeared in several feature films and short subject films, most notably Stormy
Weather in 1943, which was released July 21, just months before his death. For the hit Broadway show Hot Chocolates, he and Razaf
wrote "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue" (1929), which became a hit forEthel Waters and Louis Armstrong.

Waller performed Bach organ pieces for small groups on occasion. Waller influenced many pre-bebop jazz pianists; Count Basie and
Erroll Garner have both reanimated his hit songs. In addition to his playing, Waller was known for his many quips during his
performances.

Between 1926 and the end of 1927, Waller recorded a series of pipe organ solo records. These represent the first time syncopated jazz
compositions were performed on a full-sized church or
gan.

Personal life
In 1938, Waller was one of the first African Americans to purchase a home in the Addisleigh Park section of St. Albans, Queens, a
New York City community with racially restrictive covenants. After his purchase, and litigation in the New York State courts, many
prosperous African Americans followed, including many jazz artists, such as Count Basie, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, and Milt
Hinton.[17]

Death and descendants

Waller contracted pneumonia and died on December 15, 1943, while traveling aboard the famous cross-country train the Super Chief
near Kansas City, Missouri. His final recording session was with an interracial group in Detroit, Michigan, that included white
trumpeter Don Hirleman. Waller was returning to New York City from Los Angeles, after the smash success of Stormy Weather, and
after a successful engagement at the Zanzibar Room, in Santa Monica California, during which he had fallen ill.[18]:6 More than
4,200 people were estimated to have attended his funeral at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem,[18]:7 which prompted Adam
Clayton Powell Jr., who delivered the eulogy, to say that Fats Waller "always played to a packed house."[19] Afterwards, he was
cremated and his ashes were scattered over Harlem from an airplane piloted by an unidentified African American World War I
aviator. [20]

One descendant is professional football playerDarren Waller, who is Fats' great-grandson.[21]

Revival and awards

A Broadway musical showcasing Waller tunes entitled Ain't Misbehavin' was produced in 1978. (The show and a star of the show,
Nell Carter, won Tony Awards.) The show opened at the Longacre Theatre and ran for more than 1600 performances. It was revived
on Broadway in 1988. Performed by five African-American actors, the show included such songs as "Honeysuckle Rose", "This Joint
Is Jumpin'", and "Ain't Misbehavin'".

Year Inducted Title

2008 Gennett Records Walk of Fame
2005 Jazz at Lincoln Center: Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame
1993 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
1989 Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame
1970 Songwriters Hall of Fame
Recordings of Fats Waller were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame which is a special Grammy Award established in 1973 to
honour recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance".

Grammy Hall of Fame Awards[22]

Year Year
Title Genre Label Notes
Recorded Inducted
"Honeysuckle Jazz
1934 Victor 1999 —
Rose" (Single)
Listed in the National Recording
Jazz
1929 "Ain't Misbehavin'" Victor 1984 Registry
(Single)
by the Library of Congress in 2004.

Probably the most talented pianist to keep the music of "Fats" Waller alive in the years after his death was Ralph Sutton, who focused
his career on playing stride piano. Sutton was a great admirer of Waller, saying "I've never heard a piano man swing any better than
Fats – or swing a band better than he could. I never get tired of him. Fats has been with me from the first, and he'll be with me as long
as I live."[23]

Actor and band leaderConrad Janis also did a lot to keep the stride piano music of "Fats" Waller and James P. Johnson alive. In 1949,
as an 18-year-old, Janis put together a band of aging jazz greats, consisting of James P. Johnson (piano), Henry Goodwin (trumpet),
Edmond Hall (clarinet), Pops Foster (bass) and Baby Dodds (drums), with Janis on trombone.[24]

In popular culture
Waller is the subject of the Irish poetMichael Longley's "Elegy for Fats Waller".[25]
Robert Pinsky's poem, "History of My Heart", opens with W aller walking into the 34th St. Macy's at Christmastime
He was caricatured in severalWarner Brothers animated shorts, most notablyTin Pan Alley Cats.
In the 2008 film Be Kind Rewind, Waller is a major theme and influence for the storyline.
Italian comics artist Igort published a graphic novel about Waller entitled Fats Waller on Coconino Press in 2009.
His song "Inside This Heart of Mine", is used in the queuing areas of the ride The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Some of Waller's music ("Jitterbug Waltz") is used in the video game seriesBioShock.
Waller's version of "Louisiana Fairytale" wasused for many years as the theme song to the American television
series This Old House.[26]
Waller's church organ music featured prominently in David Lynch's breakthrough film Eraserhead in 1977.[27]
Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, wrote the song "Fats" in their albumRenegade. It is inspired in the figure of Waller.
The story of Fats Waller's performance at Al Capone's birthday party was told in theMysteries at the Museum
Season 21 episode "Columbus and the Mermaid, Skyscraper Snafu and Stealing the Show" .[28]
His song Ain't Misbehavin' is featured as one of the radio tunes played in the 2018 video gameFallout 76.

Key recordings
Source:[29]
 Recording Recording
Title Company
Date Location
New York, New Victor 24830 (reissued
"African Ripples" 11-16-34
York Bluebird B-10115)
March 21, New York, New
"After You've Gone" Victor 22371-B
1930 York
January 3, Camden, New
"A Handful Of Keys" Victor V-38508
1929 Jersey
February 8, Camden, New
Ain't Misbehavin' Victor 22092, 22108
1929 Jersey
August 28, London,
"All God's Chillun Got Wings" Victor 27460
1938 England
November 16, New York, New Victor 24830 (reissued
"Alligator Crawl"
1934 York Bluebird B-10098)
November 3, New York, New
"Baby Brown" (only issued on LP)
1935 York
August 29, Camden, New Victor rejected, issued on LPV-
"Baby, Oh! Where Can You Be?"
1929 Jersey 550
November 3, New York, New
"Basin Street Blues" Bluebird B-10115
1935 York
November 3, New York, New
"Because Of Once Upon a Time" RFW
1935 York
November 3, New York, New
"Believe It, Beloved" HMV
1935 York
October 21, New York, New
"Birmingham Blues" Okeh 4757-B
1922 York
February 16, Camden, New
"Blue Black Bottom" Victor
1927 Jersey
November 3, New York, New
"Blue Turning Gray Over You" HMV
1935 York
November 3, New York, New
"California, Here I Come" HMV
1935 York
New York, New
"Carolina Shout" May 13, 1941 Victor
York
November 3, New York, New
"Clothes Line Ballet" Victor 25015
1935 York
"I Can't Give You Anything but Love" (vocals August 28, London,
HMV B8849
by Adelaide Hall) 1938 England
August 28, London,
"Deep River" Victor 27459
1938 England
November 9, New York, New
"Goin' About" Victor
1929 York
February 8, Camden, New
"Gladyse" Victor
1929 Jersey
August 28, London,
"Go Down, Moses" Victor 27458
1938 England
New York, New
"Honeysuckle Rose"[7] 1934 HMV
York
New York, New
"I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby" 1931 HMV
York
"I've Got A Feeling I'm Falling" February 8, Camden, New Victor
 1929 Jersey
March 16, Camden, New
"Jitterbug Waltz" Victor
1942 Jersey
November 6, New York, New
"Keeping Out Of Mischief Now" Bluebird 10099
1937 York
November 17, Camden, New
"Lennox Avenue Blues" Victor 20357-B
1926 Jersey
August 28, London,
"Lonesome Road" Victor 27459
1938 England
January 3, New York, New
"Minor Drag" Victor
1929 York
January 14, Camden, New
"Messin' Around With The Blues Blues" Victor
1927 Jersey
New York, New
"My Fate Is In Your Hands" April 12, 1929 Victor
York
New York, New
"My Feelin's Are Hurt" April 12, 1929 Victor
York
January 3, Camden, New
"Numb Fumblin'" Victor
1929 Jersey
November 3, New York, New
"Russian Fantasy" HMV
1935 York
January 14, Camden, New
"Soothin' Syrup Stomp" Victor
1927 Jersey
January 14, Camden, New
"Sloppy Water Blues" Victor
1927 Jersey
September 24, New York, New
"Smashing Thirds" Victor
1929 York
February 8, Camden, New
"Sweet Savannah Sue" Victor
1929 Jersey
January 14, Camden, New
"The Rusty Pail" Victor
1927 Jersey
August 29, Camden, New
"That's All" Victor 23260
1929 Jersey
February 8, Camden, New
"Valentine Stomp" Victor
1929 Jersey
November 16, New York, New
"Viper's Drag" HMV
1934 York
November 3, New York, New
"Zonky" HMV
1935 York

Filmography
Source:[29]

Title Director Year

King of Burlesque Sidney Lanfield 1936
Hooray for Love Walter Lang 1935
Stormy Weather Andrew L. Stone 1943
See also
List of ragtime composers

References
1. Tenenholtz, David. "Waller, Fats (Thomas Wright)" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090406062100/http://www
.jazz.co
m/encyclopedia/waller-fats-thomas-wright). JAZZ.COM. Archived fromthe original (http://www.jazz.com/encyclopedi
a/waller-fats-thomas-wright)on April 6, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
2. "Thomas Wright Waller". Encyclopedia of World Biography (vol. 16)(2nd ed.). Detroit: Gale. 2004. pp. 81–82.
3. Pelisson, Gerard J.; Garvey III, James A. (2009).The Castle on the Parkway. Scarsdale, New York: The Hutch
Press. p. 40.
4. Ivy, James (2011). "Waller, Fats (1904–1943)". In Price, Emmett G. Encyclopedia of African American Music. Santa
Barbara: Greenwood. pp. 986–987.
5. "James P. Johnson | American composer and pianist"(https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-P-Johnson).
Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
6. Bromberg, Howard (2012). "Waller, Fats". In Rollyson, Carl. The Twenties in America. Ipswich, MA: Salem Press.
pp. 904–905.
7. "Honeysuckle Rose" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7zm8v9reDo) sung by Fats Waller in a 1941 Minoco
Production Soundie
8. Palmer, David (1976). All You Need Is Love. Viking Press. ISBN 0-670-11448-0.
9. Tyle, Chris (2012). "I Can't Give You Anything but Love (1928)" (http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-1/icantg
iveyouanythingbutlove.htm). JazzStandards.com. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
10. Singer, Barry (1992). Black and Blue: The Life and Lyrics of Andy Razaf (https://www.amazon.com/Black-Blue-Life-L
yrics-Razaf/dp/002872397X). Shirmer-Macmillan. pp. 210f. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
11. Berger, Edward; Martin, Henry; Cayer, David; Morgenstern, Dan; Porter, Lewis, eds. (1996). Annual Review of Jazz
Studies 7: 1994–1995 (https://books.google.com/books?id=XfzZcCcgk9QC&pg=PR5&lpg=PR5&dq=Machlin+Prefac
e+Annual+Review+Jazz&source=bl&ots=Kl6HDYY q4h&sig=ut_2TU4WtuvZx8ctEg_0xtTwNnM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sT4
-U4z6CMHmsATMjIGgDA&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Machlin%20Preface%20Annual%20REview%20Ja
zz&f=false). Scarecrow Press. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
12. Machlin, Paul S., ed. (2001).Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller: Performances in Transcription, 1927–1943, Volume 41 (h
ttps://books.google.com/books?id=xFWIizMK-FkC&pg=PR34&lpg=PR34&dq=Machlin%2C+%E2%80%9CFats+W all
er+Composes%2C%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=H8HHCbxjTj&sig=5ZTXZ9zV AbEOrLV28yWUCkzE7VA&hl=en&sa
=X&ei=iUA-U578HovgsASxkoCACA&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ) . A-R Editions. ISBN 9780895794673.
13. Waller, Maurice and Anthony Calabrese.Fats Waller, Schirmer Books, 1977. ASIN B000JV3G1U, p. 164.
14. "Underneath a Harlem Moon: The Harlem to Paris Y
ears of Adelaide Hall (Bayou Jazz Lives): Iain Cameron
Williams: Amazon.com: Books"(https://www.amazon.com/Underneath-Harlem-Moon-Paris-Adelaide/dp/B005ZOLV7
C). Amazon.com. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
15. Waller-Calabrese, pp. 62–63.
16. Vitery, Institute of jazz studies, Edwin."Fats Waller in Europe: London"(http://newarkwww.rutgers.edu/ijs/fw/people2
c.htm). newarkwww.rutgers.edu.
17. "This Green and Pleasant Land"(http://prrac.org/newsletters/janfebmar2017.pdf)by Bryan Greene, in Poverty and
Race, page 3.
18. Machlin, Paul S. (1985).Stride: The Music of Fats Waller (https://books.google.com/books?id=QqGuCwAAQBAJ&dq
=Stride%3A+The+Music+of+Fats+Waller&q=zanzibar#v=snippet&q=zanzibar&f=false). Springer.
ISBN 9781349085675 – via Google Books.
19. "Waller, Fats (Thomas Wright)" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090406062100/http://www .jazz.com/encyclopedia/wal
ler-fats-thomas-wright). Jazz.com. Archived from the original (http://www.jazz.com/encyclopedia/waller-fats-thomas-
wright) on April 6, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
20. The Book of Lists 3. Corgi. 1984. p. 425. ISBN 0-552-12371-4. From "Gone with the wind, sort of: ashes of 19
famous people – and 1 dog."
21. "Darren Waller" (http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/darren_waller_756497.html). RamblinWreck.com.
CBS. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
22. "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame"(https://web.archive.org/web/20110122042616/http://www .grammy.org/recording-academ
y/awards/hall-of-fame). GRAMMY.org. Archived from the original (http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/award
s/hall-of-fame) on January 22, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
23. Schacter, James D. Piano Man: The Story of Ralph Sutton,p. 12, Jaynar Press, Chicago, IL.
24. Uhl, Jim. "For Conrad Janis, Acting and Jazz Share the Spotlight,"The Mississippi Rag, pp. 1–9, Sept. 2002,
Minneapolis, MN.
25. "Workshop Poems – The Belfast Group"(http://beck.library.emory.edu/BelfastGroup/browse.php?id=longley1_10282
#longley1_10271). Beck.library.emory.edu. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
26. "FAQs | This Old House TV"(https://web.archive.org/web/20140329034912/http://www .thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/faqs
#toh7). This Old House. Archived fromthe original (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/faqs#toh7) on March 29,
2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
27. "David Lynch's Eraserhead Soundtrack"(http://www.davidlynch.de/headmusic.html). DavidLynch.de. Retrieved
June 27, 2014.
28. "Travel Channel Schedule"(http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/tv-schedule.2018.08.08.CST). Retrieved July 31,
2018.
29. "Fats Waller" (http://www.redhotjazz.com/fats.html). Redhotjazz.com. Retrieved June 27, 2014.

Further reading
Machlin, Paul S., ed. (2001).Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller: Performances in Transcription, 1927–1943. Music of the
United States of America (MUSA), vol. 10. Madison, Wisconsin: A-R Editions.
Taylor, Stephen (2006). Fats Waller on the Air: The Radio Broadcasts& Discography. Lanham: Scarecrow Press.
ISBN 0-8108-5656-5.

External links
Fats Waller at Encyclopædia Britannica
Fats Waller piano rollography
Red Hot Jazz, a selection of Fats Waller's Recordings
Fats Waller Forever, a digital exhibit of Fats Waller's musical career
Fats Waller at Music of the United States of America (MUSA)
Fats Waller memorabilia
Fats Waller, a tribute to the King of Stride Piano (French and English)
Fats Waller Stride Piano & Sheet Music
Allmusic
MIDI sequences of 21 piano compositions and 29 piano arrangements by Fats W
aller

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