Fats Waller 54958 219238773 2008-06-14T06:57:51Z Infrogmation 4444 /* Biography */ restore earlier more detailed {{refimprove||date=March 2007}} {{Infobox musical artist | Name = Fats Waller | Img = Fats Waller NYWTS.jpg | Img_capt = | Img_size = 300 | Landscape = | Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | Birth_name = Thomas Wright Waller | Alias = | Born = {{birth date|1904|5|21}} | Died = {{death date and age|1943|12|15|1904|5|21}} | Origin = [[New York City]] | Instrument = [[Piano]] | Voice_type = | Genre = [[Jazz]] | Occupation = [[Pianist]] | Years_active = | Label = | Associated_acts = | URL = | Current_members = | Past_members = | Notable_instruments = }} '''Fats Waller''' (born '''Thomas Wright Waller''' on [[May 21]], [[1904]] &mdash; [[December 15]], [[1943]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[Jazz piano|jazz pianist]], [[organ (instrument)|organist]], [[composer]] and [[comedy|comedic]] [[entertainer]]. A skilled pianist -- widely recognized as a master of [[stride piano]] -- Waller was one of the most popular performers of his era, finding critical and commercial success in his homeland and in Europe. Waller was also a prolific songwriter, with many songs he wrote or co-wrote still known to modern audiences, such as "[[Honeysuckle Rose (song)|Honeysuckle Rose]]", "[[Ain't Misbehavin' (song)|Ain't Misbehavin']]" and "Squeeze Me". Fellow pianist and composer [[Oscar Levant]] dubbed Waller "the black Horowitz" in a favorable comparison to Russian pianist [[Vladimir Horowitz]]<ref>Palmer, David. ''All You Need Is Love''. Viking Press. 1976. ISBN 0670114480.</ref>. A prolific composer of novelty swing tunes in the 1920s and 30s, Waller sold many of his compositions for relatively small sums, and as they became hits, other songwriters had already claimed them as their own. Thus many standards are alternatively, controversially attributed to Waller. ==Biography== He was born in New York City on 10th Avenue<ref name="plaque">Krebs, Albin and Robert Thomas Jr. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00E1D7153BF93AA2575BC0A967948260&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/H/Historic%20Buildings%20and%20Sites ''Plaque in Harlem a Memorial to Fats Waller.''] New York Times. 19 August 1981.</ref> to a [[Baptist]] minister father. In 1888, when the Waller family migrated from Virginia to New York City they chose Waverly Place in Greenwich Village in order to belong to the Abyssinian Baptist Church. When the church moved uptown to [[Harlem, Manhattan|Harlem]] the family followed and settled eventually at 107 West 134th street.<ref name="maurice">Waller, Maurice and Anthony Calabrese. ''Fats Waller''. Schirmer Books. 1977. ASIN B000JV3G1U.</ref><ref name="plaque"/> Fats's grandfather, Adolph Waller, was an accomplished violinist. Waller started his musical career at an early age. He studied [[European classical music|classical]] [[piano]] and [[organ (music)|organ]] as a child, taught largely by the music director of his Baptist church, who insisted he also learn the organ works of [[J. S. Bach.]] Waller learned the latest piano style from following a [[player piano]] recording of legendary Harlem stride pianist [[James P. Johnson]]'s "Carolina Shout." Subsequently, Waller took regular piano lessons from Johnson, a pivotal jazz artist, and joined him making [[piano rolls]] for the QRS Music Roll Company. He also benefitted from legendary stride pianist [[Willie "The Lion" Smith]], who gave Fats the nickname "Filthy".<ref name="maurice">Waller, Maurice and Anthony Calabrese. ''Fats Waller''. Schirmer Books. 1977. ASIN B000JV3G1U.</ref> The Lion's love for 19th Century impressionistic composers helped extend Waller's use of classical pianistic devices. Johnson introduced Waller to the world of [[rent party|rent parties]] (parties with a piano player, designed to help pay the rent by charging the guests), and obtained his first piano roll assignments and recordings for Okeh Records when Waller was only 18. On [[December 15]], [[1943]], Waller died of [[pneumonia]] while stopped at the railroad station in Kansas City. He was in his private railroad car, returning to New York after a two week engagement in Los Angeles. Waller was only 39.<ref>''Fats Waller, Negro Band Leader, Dies''. San Antonio Light. 15 December 15 1943, p. 4.</ref> His weight of nearly 300 pounds (136 kg) and perpetual drinking habit are believed to have contributed to his premature death. His size was the subject of jokes in one of his final radio appearances, December 5 on the Edgar Bergen - Charlie McCarthy show. ==Musical contributions== An excellent and much copied jazz pianist, Waller is considered one of the very best to have played in the stride style. With a touch that varied from subtle and extremely light to very powerful, he was a master of dynamics and tension and release. However, it was his singing, songwriting, and lovable, roguish stage personality that sold his hundreds of recordings for [[RCA Records|RCA Victor]], in a day when much of society did not recognize jazz as "serious" music. He played with many performers, from [[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". Fats Waller was such an impressive and talented pianist that he came to the attention of the rich and famous—- sometimes whether he wanted to or not. Waller was in [[Chicago]] in 1926 and, upon leaving the building where he was performing, he was kidnapped by four men, who bundled him into a car and drove off. The car later pulled up outside the Hawthorne Inn, owned by infamous gangster [[Al Capone]]. Fats was ordered inside the building, to find a party in full swing. With a gun against his back, Waller was pushed towards a piano, whereupon the gangsters demanded he start playing. A terrified Waller suddenly realized he was the "surprise guest" at Al Capone's birthday party. Soon comforted by the fact that he wouldn't die, Waller played, according to rumor, for three days. When he left the Hawthorne Inn, he was very drunk, extremely tired, and had earned thousands of dollars in cash given to him by Capone himself and by party-goers as tips.<ref name="maurice"/> Among his songs are "Squeeze Me" ([[1919]]), "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now", "[[Ain't Misbehavin' (song)|Ain't Misbehavin']]" ([[1929]]), "Blue Turning Grey Over You", "I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling" ([[1929]]), "[[Honeysuckle Rose (song)|Honeysuckle Rose]]" ([[1929]]), and "Jitterbug Waltz" ([[1942]]). He collaborated successfully with the [[Tin Pan Alley]] lyricist [[Andy Razaf]] for a number of years. Waller also composed stride piano display pieces such as "Handful of Keys", "Valentine Stomp" and "Viper's Drag." His songs have become standards of the jazz repertoire. Waller made a successful tour of the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] in the late [[1930]]s, and appeared in one of the earliest [[BBC]] [[Television]] broadcasts. While in Britain, Waller also recorded a number of songs for [[EMI]] on their [[Theatre organ|Compton Theatre organ]] located in their [[Abbey Road Studios|Studios]] in [[St John's Wood]], [[London]]. He appeared in several feature films and short subject [[film]]s, most notably "[[Stormy Weather (1943 film)|Stormy Weather]]" in [[1943]], which was released only months before his death. For his hit Broadway show, "Hot Chocolates", with Razaf he wrote "(What Did I Do To Be So) ''Black and Blue'')?" ([[1929]]) which became a hit for [[Ethel Waters]] and [[Louis Armstrong]]. This song, a searing treatment of [[racism]], black and white, calls into question the early accusations of "shallow entertainment" ignorantly leveled at both Armstrong and Waller. Waller could read and write music well (from his classical keyboard studies) and would even, on occasion, perform organ works of Bach for small groups. He left his stamp on many pre-bop jazz pianists. [[Count Basie]] and [[Erroll Garner]], for example, would have sounded very different absent the Waller sound. Today, [[Dick Hyman]], [[Mike Lipskin]], Louis Mazatier and other jazz pianists perform in the Waller idiom. Although the stride style, like all jazz, must be learned primarily by ear, many scholars have transcribed his brilliant improvisations from old recordings and radio broadcasts, in sheet music form. The pianist and keyboard professor [[Paul Posnak]] has produced transcriptions of 16 of Waller's greatest solos, published by [[Hal Leonard Corporation|Hal Leonard]], which Posnak uses in concerts worldwide. In addition to his virtuosic playing, Waller was known for his many quips during his performances, including: ''"One never knows, do one?"'' ''"No lady, We can't haul your ashes for 25 cents, that's bad business."'' ''"Mercy!"'' ''"Well all right then!"'' ''"I wonder what the poor people are doing... I'd love to be doing it with them!"'' ''"Run into and stab me, but don't bruise me!"'' and ''"Wot's da matta wit DAT?!"'' ==Grammy Hall of Fame== Recordings of Fats Waller were inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame Award|Grammy Hall of Fame]], which is a special Grammy award established in [[1973]] to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance." {| class=wikitable |- | colspan=5 align=center | '''Fats Waller: Grammy Hall of Fame Awards'''<ref>[http://www.grammy.com/Recording_Academy/Awards/Hall_Of_Fame/ Grammy Hall of Fame Database]</ref> |- ! Year Recorded ! Title ! Genre ! Label ! Year Inducted ! Notes |- align=center | 1934 | [[Honeysuckle Rose (song)|Honeysuckle Rose]] | Jazz (Single) | Victor | 1999 |- align=center | 1929 | [[Ain't Misbehavin' (song)|Ain't Misbehavin']] | Jazz (Single) | Victor | 1984 | [[List of recordings preserved in the United States National Recording Registry|Listed in the National Recording Registry]]<br>by the [[Library of Congress]] in [[2004]]. |- align=center |} ==Revival and posthumous 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 Award]]s for the show.) 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 (song)|Honeysuckle Rose]]", "This Joint Is Jumpin'", and "[[Ain't Misbehavin' (song)|Ain't Misbehavin']]". Waller's music is featured in the 2008 movie "[[Be Kind Rewind]]". ===Inductions=== {| class=wikitable |- | colspan=5 align=center | |- ! Year Inducted ! Title |- align=center | 2008 | [[Gennett Records]] Walk of Fame |- align=center | 2005 | [[Jazz at Lincoln Center|Jazz at Lincoln Center: Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame]] |- align=center | 1993 | [[Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award]] |- align=center | 1989 | [[Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame]] |- align=center | 1970 | [[Inductees of the Songwriters Hall of Fame|Songwriters Hall of Fame]] |- align=center |} ==Popular culture== *Referenced in the 1979 movie ''[[The Muppet Movie]]''. *Referenced in [[Robert Pinsky]]'s poem "History of My Heart." *An Episode of ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway]]'' had [[Wayne Brady]] perform as Fats Waller doing the ad-libbed safari-themed song "Lion Nibblin' On My Toes". *His organ music is prominently featured in the [[David Lynch]] cult hit, ''[[Eraserhead]]''. *A part of ''Alligator Crawl'' is featured during the "Intermission" sequences of ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]''. *The 2008 film ''[[Be Kind Rewind]]'' features a young man played by [[Mos Def]] who believes Fats Waller was born in the video shop where he works. Despite eventually discovering the story to be false, he brings his neighbors together to make a film celebrating the spirit of Fats and of their community. ==References== {{Reflist}} ==See also== * [[Andy Razaf|Andy Razaf, lyricist]] * [[Stride Piano|Stride piano defined with notable artists listed]] ==External links== * {{imdb name|id=0909043|name=Fats Waller}} * {{ibdb name|id=12543|name=Fats Waller}} * [http://www.pianola.com/fatsw.htm Fats Waller piano rollography] * [http://www.redhotjazz.com/Fats.html Red Hot Jazz] A selection of Fats Waller's Recordings * [http://newarkwww.rutgers.edu/ijs/fw/fatsmain.htm Fats Waller Forever] A digital exhibit of Fats Waller's musical career * [http://fatswaller.org/ Fats Waller] A hodge-podge of Waller memorabilia * [http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jcarl.simonetti/home Fats Waller] A tribute to the King of Stride Piano * [http://bmarcore.club.fr/waller/home.html Fats Waller] Stride Piano & Sheet Music * [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hifyxqy5ldde~T1 All Music Guide] {{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Thomas "Fats"}} [[Category:Swing pianists]] [[Category:Stride pianists]] [[Category:Jive singers]] [[Category:African American musicians]] [[Category:Baptists from the United States]] [[Category:American jazz composers]] [[Category:American jazz organists]] [[Category:American jazz pianists]] [[Category:American jazz songwriters]] [[Category:1904 births]] [[Category:1943 deaths]] [[Category:People from New York City]] [[Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees]] [[Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners]] [[Category:Vaudeville performers]] [[Category:Gennett recording artists]] [[da:Fats Waller]] [[de:Fats Waller]] [[et:Fats Waller]] [[es:Fats Waller]] [[fr:Fats Waller]] [[it:Fats Waller]] [[lb:Fats Waller]] [[nl:Fats Waller]] [[ja:ファッツ・ウォーラー]] [[no:Fats Waller]] [[pt:Fats Waller]] [[sv:Fats Waller]]