Thomas Wright Waller was the youngest of four children, born in New York to Adeline Locket Waller and Reverend Edward Martin Waller. He 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 18 years old.
He was the prize pupil, and later friend and colleague, of stride pianist James P. Johnson. Fats Waller was the son of a preacher and learned to play the organ in church with his mother. Overcoming opposition from his clergyman father, Waller became a professional pianist at 15, working in cabarets and theaters. In 1918 he won a talent contest playing Johnson's "Carolina Shout", a song he learned from watching a player piano play it.
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 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. Waller's son Maurice wrote in his 1977 biography of his father, that once he was playing "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" when he heard his father complaining from upstairs and came down and admonished him never to play that song in his hearing, saying that he had to sell that song when he needed some money. He even made a recording of it in 1938 with Adelaide Hall who, coincidentally, had introduced the song to the world (at Les Ambassadeurs Club in New York in 1928), in which he played the tune but made fun of the lyrics. Likewise, Maurice noted his father's objections whenever he heard "On the Sunny Side of the Street" played on the radio.
The anonymous sleeve notes on the 1960 RCA (UK) album Handful of Keys state that Waller copyrighted over 400 new songs, many of which 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".[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, 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."
Waller 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".
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 Al Capone. Waller 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 Capone's birthday party, and took comfort that the gangsters did not 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.
In 1926, Waller began his recording association with Victor Records, 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 interracial 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's 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 by Bill 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 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 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. 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.
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.
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 organ.
Waller contracted pneumonia and died on a cross country train trip near Kansas City, Missouri on December 15, 1943, after making a final recording session with an interracial group in Detroit that included white trumpeter Don Hirleman. He was on his way back to Hollywood for more film work, after the smash success of "Stormy Weather". Coincidentally, as the train with the body of Waller stopped in Kansas City, so stopped a train with his dear friend Louis Armstrong on board.
Revival and awards
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
1934 "Honeysuckle Rose" Jazz (Single) Victor in 1998
1929 "Ain't Misbehavin'" Jazz (Single) Victor in 1984 Listed in the National Recording Registry
by the Library of Congress in 2004.
Subject of the Irish poet Michael Longley's "Elegy for Fats Waller".
Waller's organ music is prominently featured in the David Lynch film 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 for the storyline.
Italian comics book artist Igort published a comic book about Waller entitled Fats Waller on Coconino Press in 2009.
Some of Waller's music ("Jitterbug Waltz") is used in the video game series BioShock.
Waller's version of "Louisiana Fairytale" was used for many years as the theme song to This Old House.
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'".
After You've Gone
Fats Waller Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How could you tell me that you're goin' away?
Don't say that we must part,
Don't break your baby's heart
You know I've loved you for these many years,
Loved you night and day,
Oh! honey baby, can't you see my tears?
After you've gone and left me cryin'
After you've gone there's no denyin'
You'll feel blue, you'll feel sad
You'll miss the dearest pal you've ever had
There'll come a time, now don't forget it
There'll come a time when you'll regret it
Someday, when you grow lonely
Your heart will break like mine and you'll want me only
After you've gone, after you've gone away
After you've gone and left me cryin'
After you've gone there's no denyin'
You're gonna feel blue, and you're gonna feel sad
You're gonna feel bad
And you'll miss, and you'll miss,
And you'll miss the bestest pal you ever had
There'll come a time, now don't forget it
There'll come a time when you'll regret it
But baby, think what you're doin'
I'm gonna haunt you so, I'm gonna taunt you so
It's gonna drive you to ruin
After you've gone, after you've gone away.
The lyrics for Fats Waller’s “After You’ve Gone” are a heartbroken plea for a lover not to leave. The singer implores his love not to break “your baby's heart” because he has loved her for many years, night and day. He is crying because she has said that she is going away, and he begs her not to forget that she will miss him and feel blue and sad. Even though he loves her, he warns her that there will come a time when she will regret leaving him and grow lonely, and her heart will break like his. He tells her that he will haunt and taunt her until it drives her to ruin.
The song’s chorus reinforces the singer’s message. It tells of the aftermath of the lover leaving: “After you’ve gone and left me crying… there’s no denying you’re gonna feel blue and you’re gonna feel sad and you’re gonna feel bad… there’ll come a time when you’ll regret it… and you’ll miss the bestest pal you ever had…”
The song’s lyrics are straightforward, yet the power of the song comes from the emotional depth of the delivery. Waller's vocal and piano performance makes the lyrics feel urgent, and the mournful notes of his piano match the melancholy of the lyrics. The song’s universal message of regret and heartbreak resonates with anyone who has been left by someone they loved.
Line by Line Meaning
Now won't you listen honey, while I say,
Listen to me, dear, please give me your attention
How could you tell me that you're goin' away?
How could you break my heart by telling me you're leaving?
Don't say that we must part,
Please don't say we have to break up
Don't break your baby's heart
Don't hurt me, your love and actions mean everything to me
You know I've loved you for these many years
I have loved you for a long time, through thick and thin
Loved you night and day
I have loved you every moment of every day, without fail
Oh! honey baby, can't you see my tears?
I am crying, my heart is breaking from the pain of our separation
Listen while I say
Please pay attention to my words
After you've gone and left me cryin'
Once you leave me and I'm left here crying
After you've gone there's no denyin'
There's no denying that life will be different without you
You'll feel blue, you'll feel sad
You will feel unhappy and regretful
You'll miss the dearest pal you've ever had
You'll miss me, the closest and most important friend you've ever had
There'll come a time, now don't forget it
Keep in mind that someday you'll feel the same pain I do
There'll come a time when you'll regret it
You'll regret leaving me, realizing you made a big mistake
Someday, when you grow lonely
One day, when you're lonely and feeling the weight of your decision
Your heart will break like mine and you'll want me only
You will understand the pain I feel and realize you want to be with me
You're gonna feel blue, and you're gonna feel sad
You will feel unhappy and regretful
You're gonna feel bad
You'll feel guilty and upset about what you've done
And you'll miss, and you'll miss,
You'll yearn for, and desire
And you'll miss the bestest pal you ever had
You'll especially miss me, the closest and most important friend you've ever had
But baby, think what you're doin'
Please think carefully about what you're doing
I'm gonna haunt you so, I'm gonna taunt you so
The thought of me and what you've done will torment you
It's gonna drive you to ruin
It will cause you immense pain and suffering
After you've gone, after you've gone away.
Once you've left me and gone, you'll start to feel the consequences of your actions
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Henry Creamer, Turner Layton, Ray Sherman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@thegreatnate5208
Now won't you listen honey, while I say,
How could you tell me that you're goin' away?
Don't say that we must part,
Don't break your baby's heart
You know I've loved you for these many years,
Loved you night and day,
Oh! honey baby, can't you see my tears?
Listen while I say
After you've gone and left me cryin'
After you've gone there's no denyin'
You'll feel blue, you'll feel sad
You'll miss the dearest pal you've ever had
There'll come a time, now don't forget it
There'll come a time when you'll regret it
Someday, when you grow lonely
Your heart will break like mine and you'll want me only
After you've gone, after you've gone away
After you've gone and left me cryin'
After you've gone there's no denyin'
You're gonna feel blue, and you're gonna feel sad
You're gonna feel bad
And you'll miss, and you'll miss,
And you'll miss the bestest pal you ever had
There'll come a time, now don't forget it
There'll come a time when you'll regret it
But baby, think what you're doin'
I'm gonna haunt you so, I'm gonna taunt you so
It's gonna drive you to ruin
After you've gone, after you've gone away.
@altruisticharbinger8373
Stuff like this is what makes life worth living
@ecliff3
Fats’ skills were amazing! He makes it seem so effortless. Playing with technical wizardry while singing & shamelessly mugging for the camera. The degree of coordination to do all of that is mind boggling.
@Andrew-jn9yp
It's why I truly appreciate it
@KawhackitaRag
The presence of a second pianist really spurs Fats into action! Listen to beautiful right-hand stuff he plays between 2:05 and 2:16; this is absolutely the closest I've ever heard him sound to James P. Johnson! In fact, if I just heard this passage out of context, I would have sworn it was Johnson himself at the piano; the swing, touch, and musical ideas are practically identical! I know JPJ taught Fats, but I had not been able to hear the direct influence until now. Thanks!!!
@Pentagonshark666
Fats really was the man,not an ordinary pianist,a brilliant pianist.
@1311rabbit
The last time I saw Benny Payne he was accompanist for Billy Daniels in the 1950's. He was a great artist & to hear him paired with Fats Waller is a real treat. Thank you so much
@wstewic
Thomas (Fats) Waller always bring joy with his music!
@meredith218461
This is one hell of a duet!.
@tamazpatarkalashvili2811
Great musician and what is interesting you are never bored of his playing and want to listen again
@Andrew-jn9yp
There's so much going on that's there's always something new to find in the song. I love it. Especially his others, you'll hear muted trumpets, clarinets, fats, I think even a flute maybe. Just beautiful