Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. He helped create the Harlem stride style, which became important for modern jazz piano. He was a famous performer during the jazz and swing eras, traveling around the world and achieving success in the United States and Europe. His most famous songs, "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose," were added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1984 and 1999, respectively.

Waller wrote over 400 songs, many of which he created with his close friend, Andy Razaf. Razaf described Waller as "the soul of melody… a person who made the piano sound beautiful… both strong in body and mind… known for his kindness… a very happy and friendly person." It is likely that Waller wrote many more songs than he is credited with. When he had money problems, he sometimes sold his songs to other writers and performers who claimed them as their own. He died from pneumonia at the age of 39.

Early life

Thomas Wright Waller was born in New York City on May 21, 1904. He was the seventh child of eleven, and five of his siblings lived to adulthood. His mother, Adeline Waller (born Lockett), was a musician, and his father, Edward Martin Waller, was a Baptist lay preacher and a teamster. They came from rural Virginia but moved to New York after marrying when Adeline was 16, hoping for better jobs, homes, and education. Thomas began playing the piano at age six and later played the reed organ during his father’s outdoor church services. He also studied the double bass and violin, using money from working at a grocery store to pay for lessons. He learned to play music by listening, and he was inspired by hearing pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski perform at Carnegie Hall. He was called "Fats" around this time because he was overweight.

Waller’s mother, Adeline, developed diabetes, which made her weak. Because of this, the family moved to an apartment in central Harlem with fewer stairs. After World War I, Harlem became known for its many bars and clubs that featured live music, which helped Waller grow as an artist. He briefly attended DeWitt Clinton High School but left to become a professional musician. During Prohibition, he worked polishing jewelry boxes and delivering alcohol illegally, using the money to afford piano lessons. At 15, he became an organist at the Lincoln Theatre, earning $23 a week. This job allowed him to practice performing and improvising.

Edward Waller did not support his son’s music career because of his strict religious beliefs, which caused tension in their relationship. Adeline, who encouraged Waller’s dreams, helped ease the conflict, but she died on November 10, 1920, from a stroke caused by her diabetes. Soon after, Waller moved in with a friend who knew pianist James P. Johnson, a key figure in the Harlem stride piano style. Waller met Johnson at age 16, and Johnson taught him piano and introduced him to important musicians in Harlem, such as Eubie Blake, Willie Gant, Cliff Jackson, Duke Ellington, and Willie "the Lion" Smith. Johnson also took him to rent parties where they performed together. Johnson remained a friend and mentor for the rest of Waller’s life.

Early in his career, Waller showed skill in creating humorous and bold lyrics. A song called "The Boy in a Boat" helped him gain popularity at rent parties and included a subtle reference to a sensitive topic. Later, the song was recorded with different lyrics as "Squeeze Me," but it kept "A Boy in a Boat" as a subtitle on a 1926 piano roll. Waller also began drinking large amounts of alcohol around age 17 or 18, a habit that continued for the rest of his life.

Career

In 1921, Waller was invited to join the vaudeville group Liza and Her Shufflin' Six on a tour of the northeast United States after impressing Liza with his organ playing at the Lincoln Theatre. While in Boston, he met Count Basie, who asked for organ lessons. These lessons took place in New York at the Lincoln Theatre. After returning, Waller played his first rent party, having improved greatly from practice and lessons with James P. Johnson. He continued performing at rent parties and took short-term jobs at nightclubs and cabarets. Waller’s steady job at the Lincoln Theatre moved to the Lafayette Theatre after a change in management.

Through his friend Clarence Williams, a Tin Pan Alley music publisher, Waller became involved with the new recording label Okeh Records. He was originally scheduled to accompany Sara Martin in "Sugar Blues," but he did not attend the recording session. Williams played instead, which started Williams’ performing career. Williams convinced Fred Hager, the head of artists and repertoire for Okeh, to give Waller another chance. Waller’s first recordings were "Muscle Shoals Blues" and "Birmingham Blues" in late 1922. In December, he accompanied Martin in "Mama's Got the Blues" and "Last Go Round Blues." James P. Johnson helped Waller record piano rolls for QRS, the first being "Got to Cool My Doggies Now," recorded in March 1923. In the summer of that year, Waller began writing original songs, starting with "Wildcat Blues," which had lyrics by Williams. Williams and Waller worked together on over 70 songs in the next five years, including "Squeeze Me."

Waller continued to accompany blues singers in recordings, play rent parties, and perform at nightclubs, gaining more attention. During this time, he met Andy Razaf, a lyricist who worked with him often and encouraged him to sing as well as play the piano. In 1923, he met J. C. Johnson and began collaborating with him. Waller became known for creating many catchy songs, but he did not copyright any of them. Instead, he sold the rights to publishers or performed them without publishing. In 1926, he composed music for two revues with Spencer Williams.

In 1926, Waller started working with the Victor Talking Machine Company (later RCA Victor) after being contacted by Ralph Peer. On November 17, 1926, he recorded "St. Louis Blues" and his own composition "Lenox Avenue Blues," his first solo recordings. On December 1, 1927, he recorded "Red Hot Dan" with Thomas Morris, the first time Waller sang on a recording.

In 1929, Waller composed some of his most well-known songs, including "Ain't Misbehavin'" (for the revue Hot Chocolates), "I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling," "Honeysuckle Rose" (for the revue Load of Coal), and "Black and Blue." To avoid paying more child support to Edith, whom he had divorced in 1923, Waller sold the rights to twenty of his songs, including "Ain't Misbehavin'," to Irving Mills for $500. This was much less than the songs were worth. As a result, he earned only the musician’s share of the royalties from later recordings.

Waller’s radio career began in December 1930 when he appeared on a new CBS show playing the piano and, for the first time, singing. Joe Davis, who became Waller’s publisher and manager after he sold his songs to Irving Mills, promoted Waller as both a singer and pianist. In March 1931, Waller recorded the solo songs "I'm Crazy about My Baby" and "Draggin' My Heart Around."

Waller started playing regularly at the Hot Feet Club, where he developed his storytelling style, including raising his eyebrows, using hand gestures for emphasis, and rolling his eyes when saying something humorous. In the summer of 1931, he visited Paris with Spencer Williams, performing in nightclubs and experiencing less racial discrimination and no prohibition laws. After returning, Marty Bloom was named Waller’s manager, but he left soon after, and Phil Ponce, who had experience in show business, took over.

Ponce focused on Waller’s radio career and secured a two-year contract with WLW in Cincinnati, where Waller had his own program, "Fats Waller's Rhythm Club." Waller also performed on the show "Moon River" but was not credited because his show was known for being loud and funny. After the contract ended in late 1933, Waller returned to New York. In March and April 1934, a series of CBS radio performances gave Waller widespread attention, leading to his own regular show, "The Rhythm Club," and appearances on other CBS programs.

This radio success led to RCA Victor offering Waller a recording contract, expecting the records to sell well among

Personal life

In 1920, Waller married Edith Hatch. The couple lived with Edith's parents because they could not afford a home of their own. Edith's parents did not approve of Waller's job as a musician, believing it was not suitable for a newlywed man. Later, the couple found their own apartment, and Edith gave birth to a son, Thomas Waller Jr., in 1921. She felt unhappy because Waller's work as a musician caused financial problems and long, irregular hours, leaving little time for her and their son. In 1923, they divorced. The agreement stated that Waller would pay $35 each week for child support and alimony. Waller did not pay the money regularly, so Edith took him to court many times. He was sent to jail on Welfare Island. In his will, Waller left Edith the smallest amount of money allowed by law, with a condition that this amount would become zero if the law changed to allow it between the time the will was written and his death.

In 1926, Waller married Anita Rutherford. They had met earlier in childhood and reunited while he performed at the Lincoln Theatre. They had a son, Maurice Thomas Waller, born on September 10, 1927. In 1928, Waller and Rutherford had their second son, Ronald Waller.

In 1938, Waller became one of the first African Americans to buy a home in the Addisleigh Park neighborhood of St. Albans, Queens, a part of New York City with rules that limited where African Americans could live. After he bought the home and legal battles in New York State courts, many successful African Americans followed, including several jazz musicians such as Count Basie, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, and Milt Hinton.

Death

Waller's health started to get worse in 1939 or 1940. Drinking a lot of alcohol, working long hours, and eating too much food were reasons for his poor health (he weighed about 285 pounds (129 kg) when he died). In October 1943, he got the flu while performing at the Zanzibar Room in Hollywood. He did not follow a doctor's advice to go to the hospital or stop drinking.

Waller died from pneumonia early on the morning of December 15, 1943, while traveling back to New York on the Santa Fe Chief train. The train was stopped at Kansas City Union Station at the time. His funeral was held at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, the same church his parents joined after moving to the city from Virginia. More than 4,200 people attended the funeral. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., who gave the eulogy, said that Waller "always played to a packed house." After the funeral, Waller was cremated, and his ashes were scattered over Harlem from an airplane. The pilot, who flew in World War I and the Spanish Civil War, was known as the "Black Ace."

Influence

Fats Waller had many fans during and after his most successful time. In 1939, while visiting a nightclub in Harlem, Waller heard a white pianist named Harry Gibson playing Waller's songs. Waller gave him a generous tip and later hired Gibson as his backup pianist during Waller's performances.

Waller also worked with other musicians in recording studios. Since Waller recorded for Victor Records, Decca Records hired a musician named Bob Howard, who both sang and played piano, to perform songs aimed at Waller's audience. Columbia Records also hired another musician, Putney Dandridge, for similar recordings.

The most skilled pianist to keep Waller's music alive after his death was Ralph Sutton. Sutton dedicated his career to playing stride piano, a style Waller was known for. Sutton admired Waller greatly, once saying, "I've never heard a piano player 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."

Actor and bandleader Conrad Janis also helped preserve the stride piano music of Waller and James P. Johnson. In 1949, when Janis was 18 years old, he formed a band with older jazz musicians, including James P. Johnson (piano), Henry Goodwin (trumpet), Edmond Hall (clarinet), Pops Foster (bass), Baby Dodds (drums), and Janis himself on trombone.

A Broadway musical called Ain't Misbehavin', which featured songs by Waller, opened in 1978. The show included performers such as Nell Carter, Andre de Shields, Armelia McQueen, Ken Page, and Charlaine Woodard. The musical won Tony Awards, and Nell Carter received one. The show played at the Longacre Theatre for over 1,600 performances. It was later revived in 1988 at the Ambassador Theatre with the original cast. The show included songs like "Honeysuckle Rose," "This Joint Is Jumpin'," and "Ain't Misbehavin'."

In 1977, British comedian Spike Milligan said that Fats Waller was the jazz musician who "set me off" after hearing the song You Rascal, You.

In 1981, the band Thin Lizzy released an album called Renegade, which included a song named "Fats." The song was written by Phil Lynott and Snowy White as a tribute to Waller.

Recognition and awards

Waller's recordings were added to the Grammy Hall of Fame, a special Grammy Award created in 1973. This award recognizes recordings that are at least 25 years old and have "qualitative or historical significance."

Selected works

Waller's music appears on hundreds of recordings. JSP Records released a complete collection of the surviving recordings:

• 1922–29 – The Complete Recorded Works Vol. 1: Messin' Around With The Blues (4xCD) (JSP, 2007)
• 1930–34 – The Complete Recorded Works Vol. 2: A Handful Of Keys (4xCD) (JSP, 2006)
• 1934–36 – The Complete Recorded Works Vol. 3: Rhythm And Romance (4xCD) (JSP, 2007)
• 1936–38 – The Complete Recorded Works Vol. 4: New York, Chicago & Hollywood (4xCD) (JSP, 2007)
• 1938–40 – The Complete Recorded Works Vol. 5: New York, London & Chicago (4xCD) (JSP, 2008)
• 1940–43 – The Complete Recorded Works Vol. 6: New York, Chicago & Hollywood (4xCD) (JSP, 2008)