Fats Waller

Happy Birthday," Fats" Thomas Wright Waller 1904-1943...One of the most vivacious, entertaining  singers, composers and pianists in jazz history, Waller was extremely popular during his lifetime and still is today. He was a prolific songwriter, creating over 450 songs, most of them sold cheaply to pay for debts and alimony and many of them claimed and made popular by other performers.

His father was a preacher in an open air church in Harlem. His mother played organ and by the time Waller was 10 he had taken over the duty, once angering his father with a jazzed up version of a hymn during services. When his mother died at age 14 he went to live with family friend and pianist, Russell Brooks, where he was introduced to his idol and mentor, stride pianist James P. Johnson. Not only did Johnson take his new student under his wing, he introduced him to his prestigious musician friends. At 15 Waller began his professional career playing for silent films at the Lincoln Theater as well as clubs and block parties with other up and coming Harlem musicians. Johnson also got him jobs making piano rolls.

Waller made his first recordings, "Muscle Shoals Blues" and "Birmingham Blues" for Okeh Records in 1922. By 1923 he had recorded with several blues singers including Alberta Hunter, had several compositions recorded by other musicians and had started broadcasting on radio in Newark, N.J. He would soon move over to WHN in New York where he would continue to broadcast as a singer and soloist throughout his life. Waller's approach to performing on radio initially made the broadcasters nervous. Instead of rehearsing heavily before going on like other groups, Waller insisted on allowing spontaneous creativity among his well trained  musicians within a framework agreed upon verbally before the show. The lively improvised broadcasts became immensely popular with audiences.

In 1926 he signed with Victor records, remaining with the company throughout his life. While he recorded with various groups, including McKinney's Cotton Pickers and his own small interracial group Fats Waller's Buddies, his most influential recordings of the 20's were his solo stride piano recordings, "Smashing Thirds", "A Handful of Keys", "Numb Fumblin' " and "Valentine Stomp" He also collaborated with other lyricists, most notably Andy Razaf,  to create songs "Crazy 'Bout My Baby", "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Black and Blue" which would find their way into shows like "Keep Shufflin' " , "Load of Coal" and "Hot Chocolates" which made it to Broadway, introducing the song "Ain't Misbehavin' " first sung by Cab Calloway and later Louis Armstrong.

In 1934 he began his biggest series of recordings with his own small group known as Fats Waller and his Rhythm Club. He also worked with Les Hite's band at The New Cotton Club in Los Angeles, making a couple of movies while he was there, "Hooray for Love" and "King of Burlesque". He would follow up with two more movies in the early 40's, "Ain't Misbehavin' " and "Stormy Weather" as well as several shorts.

He made several tours of Europe, even playing on the organ at Notre Dame. While in London he recorded his "London Suite", an extended series of six related pieces which indicated his desire to be taken more seriously as an artist, not just a pop music composer. He tour of Europe was cut short in 1939 when WW2 broke out.

The last few years of Waller's life saw him recording and touring the U.S. extensively but his heavy eating and drinking and the nervous strain of always being in financial trouble began to take it's toll. He was on his way back to California to do more film work when he came down with pneumonia and died on the train on December 15, 1943. He was 39 years old.