Fats Waller

Fats Waller
Background information
Birth name	Thomas Wright Waller
Born	May 21, 1904(1904-05-21)
Origin	New York, New York, U.S.A.
Died	December 15, 1943(1943-12-15) (aged 39)
Genres	Dixieland, jazz, swing, stride, ragtime
Occupations	Pianist, singer, organist
Instruments	Piano, vocals, organ
Years active	1918–1943

Fats Waller (May 1, 1903 – December 15, 1943), born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer. He was the youngest of four children born to Adaline Locket Waller and the Reverend Edward Martin Waller.

Significance

Thomas Wright Waller started playing the piano when he was six and graduated to the organ of his father's church four years later. At the age of fourteen he was playing the organ at Harlem's Lincoln Theater and within twelve months he had composed his first rag. Waller's first piano solos (Muscle Shoals Blues and Birmingham Blues) were recorded in October 1922 when he was only 18 years old.

He was a splendid pianist, and master of stride piano, having been the prize pupil and later friend and colleague of the greatest of the stride pianists, James P. Johnson. Waller was one of the most popular performers of his era, finding critical and commercial success in his homeland and in Europe. He was also a prolific songwriter and many songs he wrote or co-wrote are still popular, such as "Honeysuckle Rose", "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Squeeze Me". Fellow pianist and composer Oscar Levant dubbed Waller "the black Horowitz". Waller composed many novelty swing tunes in the 1920s and 1930s and sold them for relatively small sums. When the compositions became hits, other songwriters claimed them as their own. Many standards are alternatively and sometimes controversially attributed to Waller.

The anonymous sleeve notes on the 1960 RCA (UK) album Handful of Keys state that Waller copyrighted over 400 new tunes, many of which co-written with his closest collaborator Andy Razaf. After Waller's death from pneumonia in 1943, 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".^{[citation needed]} Gene Sedric, a clarinetist who played with Waller on some of his 1930s recordings, is quoted in these same sleeve notes recalling Waller's recording technique with considerable admiration. "Fats was the most relaxed man I ever saw in a studio," he said, "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 difficult number."

Musical contributions

Waller's touch varied, and he was a master of dynamics and tension and release. He played with many performers, from Nat Shilkret (on Victor 21298-A) and Gene Austin to Erskine Tate to Adelaide Hall, but his greatest success came with his own five- or six-piece combo, "Fats Waller and his Rhythm".^{[citation needed]}

His playing once put him at risk of injury. Waller was kidnapped in Chicago leaving a performance in 1926. Four men bundled him into a car and took him to the Hawthorne Inn, owned by gangster Al Capone. Fats was ordered inside the building, and found a party in full swing. Gun to his back, he was pushed towards a piano, and told to play. A terrified Waller realized he was the "surprise guest" at Al Capone's birthday party, and took comfort that the gangsters didn't intend to kill him. According to rumor, Waller played for three days. When he left the Hawthorne Inn, he was very drunk, extremely tired, and had earned thousands of dollars in cash from Capone and other party-goers as tips.

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 collaborated with the Tin Pan Alley lyricist Andy Razaf. He composed stride piano display pieces such as "Handful of Keys", "Valentine Stomp" and "Viper's Drag".^{[citation needed]}

He enjoyed success touring the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1930s. He appeared in one of the first BBC Television broadcasts. While in Britain, Waller also recorded a number of songs for EMI 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, December 15, 1943. 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 for Ethel Waters and Louis Armstrong. This searing treatment of racism refutes the early criticism of Waller that his creations and performances were "shallow entertainment".^{[citation needed]}

Waller performed Bach organ pieces for small groups on occasion. Waller influenced many pre-bop jazz pianists; Count Basie and Erroll Garner have both reanimated his hit songs (notably, "Ain't Misbehavin'"). In addition to his playing, Waller was known for his many quips during his performances.

Waller contracted pneumonia and died on a cross country train trip near Kansas City, Missouri on December 15, 1943.

Revival and awards

A Broadway musical revue 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 over 1600 performances. It was revived on Broadway in 1988. Performed by five African American actors, it 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".

Fats Waller: Grammy Hall of Fame Awards
Year Recorded	Title	Genre	Label	Year Inducted	Notes
1934	Honeysuckle Rose	Jazz (Single)	Victor	1998	—
1929	Ain't Misbehavin'	Jazz (Single)	Victor	1984	Listed in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2004.

In popular culture

• Subject of the Irish poet Michael Longley's "Elegy for Fats Waller".[1]
• His organ music is prominently featured in the David Lynch cult hit, Eraserhead.
• He was caricatured in several Warner Brothers animated shorts, most notably Tin Pan Alley Cats.
• In the 2008 film, Be Kind Rewind Fats Waller was a major theme and influence over the storyline.
• "It's a Sin" features in the soundtrack for Bethesda's "Fallout: New Vegas" OST

Songs

Title	Recording Date	Recording Location	Company
African Ripples	3-11-1935	New York, New York	Bluebird B-10115
After You've Gone	3-21-1930	New York, New York	Victor 22371-B
A Handful Of Keys	3-1-1929	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
Ain't Misbehavin'	8-2-1929	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
All God's Chillun Got Wings	8-28-1938	London, England	Victor 27460
Alligator Crawl	11-16-1934	New York, New York	Bluebird B-10098
Baby Brown	3-11-1935	New York, New York	HMV
Baby, Oh! Where Can You Be?	8-29-1929	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
Basin Street Blues	3-11-1935	New York, New York	Bluebird B-10115
Because Of Once Upon a Time	3-11-1935	New York, New York	RFW
Believe It, Beloved	3-11-1935	New York, New York	HMV
Birmingham Blues	10-21-1922	New York, New York	Okeh 4757-B
Blue Black Bottom	2-16-1927	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
Blue Turning Gray Over You	3-11-1935	New York, New York	HMV
California, Here I Come	3-11-1935	New York, New York	HMV
Carolina Shout	5-13-1941	New York, New York	Victor
Clothes Line Ballet	3-11-1935	New York, New York	Victor 25015
Deep River	8-28-1938	London, England	Victor 27459
Goin' About	9-11-1929	New York, New York	Victor
Gladyse	8-2-1929	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
Go Down, Moses	8-28-1938	London, England	Victor 27458
Honeysuckle Rose	3-11-1935	New York, New York	HMV
I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby	3-11-1935	New York, New York	HMV
I've Got A Feeling I'm Falling	8-2-1929	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
Jitterbug Waltz	16-3-1942	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
Keeping Out Of Mischief Now	6-11-1937	New York, New York	Bluebird 10099
Lennox Avenue Blues	11-17-1922	Camden, New Jersey	Victor 20357-B
Lonesome Road	8-28-1938	London, England	Victor 27459
Minor Drag	3-1-1929	New York, New York	Victor
Messin' Around With The Blues Blues	1-14-1927	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
My Fate Is In Your Hands	12-4-1929	New York, New York	Victor
My Feelin's Are Hurt	12-4-1929	New York, New York	Victor
Numb Fumblin'	3-1-1929	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
Russian Fantasy	3-11-1935	New York, New York	HMV
Soothin' Syrup Stomp	1-14-1927	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
Sloppy Water Blues	1-14-1927	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
Smashing Thirds	9-24-1929	New York, New York	Victor
Sweet Savannah Sue	8-2-1929	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
Smashing Thirds	9-24-1929	New York, New York	Victor
The Rusty Pail	1-14-1927	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
That's All	8-29-1929	Camden, New Jersey	Victor 23260
Valentine Stomp	8-2-1929	Camden, New Jersey	Victor
Vipers Drag	11-16-1934	New York, New York	HMV
Zonky	3-11-1935	New York, New York	HMV

Filmography

Title	Director	Year
King of Burlesque	Sidney Lanfield	1936
Hooray for Love	Walter Lang	1935
Stormy Weather	Andrew L. Stone	1943

External links

• 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 memorabilia
• Fats Waller, a tribute to the King of Stride Piano (French and English)
• Fats Waller Stride Piano & Sheet Music
• Allmusic
• Fats Waller selection on a Grand Piano