Fats Waller (Thomas Wright Waller, May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an… Read Full Bio ↴Fats Waller (Thomas Wright Waller, May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer. His greatest success came with "Fats Waller & his Rhythm".
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'".
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'".
Alligator Crawl
Fats Waller Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Fats Waller:
"Fats" Waller's Original E Flat Blues A man works hard then comes on home, Expects to find…
'Tain't Nobody's Biz-Ness If I Do If I should take a notion, to jump into the…
'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do There ain't nothing I can do Or nothing I can say That…
'Tain't What You Do When I was a kid about half past three My ma…
'Taint Nobody's Bizness If I Do If I should take a notion, to jump into the…
(I'll Be Glad When You're Dead) You Rascal You I'll be glad when you're dead, you rascal, you I'll be…
A Good Man Is Hard To Find A good man is hard to find, you always get…
A Handful of Keys I like to tinkle on an old piana I like to…
A Hopeless Love Affair Savez vous ce que c'est d'avoir une histoire d'amour désespé…
A Porter's Love Song to a Chamber Maid I believe in miracles Strange as it may be I never laughed…
A Porter's Love Song to a Chambermaid I will be your dust pan If you'll be my broom We…
A Tisket a Tasket A-Tisket A-Tasket A green and yellow basket I bought a baske…
A-Tisket A-Tasket A-Tisket A-Tasket A green and yellow basket I bought a bas…
Abdullah Abdullah, was the king of Amazoola He lived in a harem…
After You're Gone Now won't you listen honey, while I say, How could…
After You've Gone #2 Now won't you listen honey, while I say, How could…
Ain't Misbehavin No one to talk with, all by myself No one to…
Ain't Misbehavin' (Remastered) No one to talk with All by myself No one to walk…
Ain't Misbehavin' ) No one to talk with, all by myself No one to…
Ain't Misbehavin' - 2002 Remastered No one to talk with All by myself No one to walk…
Ain't Misbehavin' 2 No one to talk with, all by myself No one to…
Ain't Misbehaving No one to talk with All by myself No one to walk…
Ain’t Misbehavin No one to talk with All by myself No one to walk…
Ain’t Misbehavin’ No one to talk with, all by myself No one to…
All God's Chillun Got Wings Chillun', listen here to me This is my philosophy To see me…
All My Life All my life, I've been waiting for you, My wonderful one, I'…
All That Meat A man works hard then comes on home, Expects to find…
Anita Anita you're lovely like blue skies above me I need you…
At Twilight At twilight, dear, I love to have you near To whisper…
Back In Your Own Back Yard We leave home expecting to find a blue bird, Hoping ev'ry…
Basin Street Blues Won't you come along with me To the Mississippi We'll take a…
Beale Street Blues I've seen the lights of gay Broadway, Old Market Street down…
Believe It I'm walking on air For I left all my blue days…
Believe It Beloved Oh believe it, beloved, because it's true You're all that I…
Big Chief De Sota Gee, how I miss Your tender kiss, And the wonderful things…
Black And Blue Out in the street, shufflin' feet Couples passin' two by tw…
Bless You Bless you, for being an angel Just when it seemed that…
Blue Because of You Gee, how I miss Your tender kiss, And the wonderful things w…
Blue Turning Grey Over You No one to talk with All by myself No one to walk…
Blues I hate to see that evening sun go down I hate…
Breakin' the Ice She was as cool as could be, Though I said hello…
But Not for Me Old man sunshine listen you Never tell me dreams come true J…
By The Light Of The Silvery Moon By the light of the silvery moon I want to spoon To…
California Here I Come When the wintry winds are blowing and the snow is…
Cash for Your Trash Today's the day that all us cats Must surely do out…
Chloe Chloe! Chloe! Someone's calling, no reply Nightshade's f…
Christopher Columbus Mister Christopher Columbus Sailed the sea without a compass…
Come and Get It You say you want it well, come and get it You…
Crazy 'Bout My Baby My goodness, I feel so evanescent today, Oh I gotta…
Cross patch Cross patch how can anyone be so cross Won't you tumble…
Dallas Blues When your money's gone, friends have turned you down And you…
Darktown Strutter's Ball THE DARKTOWN STRUTTERS BALL I'LL BE DOWN TO GET YOU IN…
Darktown Strutters Ball the darktown strutters ball ill be down to get you in…
Dem Bones Dem Dry Bones The foot bone connected to the leg bone, The leg bone…
Dinah Carolina Gave me Dinah; I'm the proudest one Beneath the…
Dinah (1935 take) When your money's gone, friends have turned you down And you…
Do Me a Favor Do me a favour Marry me! Do me a favour Can't you see I'm…
Don't Let It Bother You "Oh what's de matter wid you? "Oh man, everything's wrong! …
Don't Try Your Jive On Me You tell me you love me only, Say you're feeling so…
Everybody Loves My Baby Everybody loves my baby but my baby don't love nobody but…
Everybody Loves My Baby But My Baby Don't Love Nobody But Me Everybody loves my baby but my baby don't love nobody but…
Fat and Greasy There is a fellow who I'm telling you The biggest who... He…
Fats Waller A man works hard then comes on home, Expects to find…
Flat Floot Floogie Oh, the flat foot floogie with a floy, floy, Flat…
Good for Nothing but Love Everybody calls me good for nothing Because I cannot tell th…
Hallelujah ( I walked down these city streets Just a lonely man inspired…
Hallelujah I'm A Bum Rockefeller's busy giving dough away; Chevrolet is busy mak…
Handful Of Keys I like to tinkle on an old piana I like to…
Have a Little Dream on Me How'd'ya like a mansion in Manhattan And a cosy cottage by…
Hold Tight Hold tight hold tight hold tight hold tight Foo-ra-de-ack-a-…
Honey Hush Come in this house Stop all of that yakety yak Come in…
Honey Suckle Rose Every honey bee fills with jealousy, When they see you out…
Honeysuckle Rose Every honey bee fills with jealousy When they see you out…
Honeysuckle Rose #1 Every honey bee fills with jealousy, When they see you out…
Honeysuckle Rose (Remastered) Every honey bee fills with jealousy, when they see you out…
How Can I Gee, but it's tough to be broke, kid. It's not a…
How Can You Face Me How can you face me, After what I've gone through, All on…
I I'll be tired of you When stars are tired of…
I Believe in Miracles I believe in miracles Strange as it may be I never laughed…
I Can't Give Anything But Love Baby Gee, but it's tough to be broke, kid. It's not a…
I Love to Whistle I love to whistle cause it makes me merry Makes…
I Understand Why do you go on pretending You know you want to…
I Used To Love You Gee, but it's tough to be broke, kid. It's not a…
I Wish I Were Twins When I'm with you I feel so small Right in my…
I'll Never Smile Again I'll never smile again Until I smile at you I'll never laugh…
I'm a hundred percent for you I belong to you ever since your heart filled me…
I'm Crazy "bout My Baby My goodness, I feel so evanescent today, Oh I gotta…
I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby (And My Baby's Crazy 'Bout Me) My goodness, I feel so evanescent today, Oh I gotta tell…
I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby (and My Baby's Crazy 'Bout Me) - Remastered 2000 I'm walking on air For I left all my blue days…
I'm Crazy About My Baby #1 My goodness, I feel so evanescent today, Oh I gotta…
I'm Crazy Bout My Baby I'm walking on air For I left all my blue days…
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter (F. Ahlert, J. Young) I'm gonna sit right down And write m…
I'm Sorry Dear I'm sorry, dear, so sorry, dear I'm sorry I made you…
I've Got a Crush on You How glad the many millions of Annabelles and Lillians Would …
I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling Now I'm flyin' high, but I've got a feelin' I'm…
If You're a Viper I dreamed about a reefer, five feet long A might immense…
It's a Sin to Lie Be sure it's true when you say "I love you" It's…
It's A Sin To Tel A Lie Be sure it's true when you say "I love you" It's…
It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie Be sure it's true when you say "I love you" It's…
I’m Crazy ´Bout My Baby I'm walking on air For I left all my blue days…
Keepin' Out of Mischief Now Don't even go to a movie show If you're not by…
Keepin´ Out Of Mischief Now Don't even go to a movie show If you're not by…
Keepin’ out of Mischief Now Keepin' out of mischief now I really am in love and…
Let's Sing Again Lets sing again Let music in your heart But you must do…
Little Curly Hair in a High Chair Little curly hair in a high chair What's your order for…
Little Curly Hair in the High Chair Little curly hair in a high chair What's your order for…
Lokkin' Good But Feelin' Bad How'd'ya like a mansion in Manhattan And a cosy cottage by…
Lonesome Road Look down, look down that lonesome road Before you travel on…
Lookin Good But Feelin' Bad How'd'ya like a mansion in Manhattan And a cosy cottage by…
Lost Love Lost love, where can you be Lost love, come back to…
Lulu Gotta get my old tuxedo pressed, gotta sew a button…
Minor Drag Every honey bee fills with jealousy, When they see you out…
Music Maestro Please Tonight I musn't think of him music Maestro please Tonight t…
My Melancholy Baby Everybody loves my baby but my baby don't love nobody but…
My Very Good Friend the Milkman My very good friend, the milkman says That I've been losing…
On The Sunny Side Of The Street Walked with no one and talked with no one And I…
Pardon My Love Everybody loves my baby but my baby don't love nobody but…
Please Keep Me in Your Dreams Please keep me in your dreams In your dreams let me…
Please Take Me Out of Jail I like to tinkle on an old piana I like to…
S'posin' s'posin' i should fall in love with you. do you think…
Saint Louis Blues I hate to see that evening sun go down I hate…
Smarty Smarty, though I'm not quite as smart as you I can…
Solitude In my solitude You haunt me With dreadful ease Of days gone …
Someone To Watch Over Me There's a saying old says that love is blind Still were…
Something Tells Me Sunny, yesterday my life was filled with rain Sunny, you sm…
Sposin' S′posin' i should fall in love with you. Do you think…
Spring Cleaning I′ll polish the leaves, make them green again; Shake out the…
Squeeze Me Oh, want to squeeze me, have mercy Baby, won't you tease…
St Louis Blues I hate to see that evening sun go down I hate…
Star Dust And now the purple dusk of twilight time Steals across the…
Stardust And now the purple dusk of twilight time Steals across the…
Sweet and Slow Sweet and slow, rock-a-bye me to and fro'When the lights…
Sweet Sue Every little star above knows the one I love Sweet Sue,…
Sweet Sue - Just You Every little star above knows the one I love And the…
Sweet Sue Just You Every little star above knows the one I love Sweet Sue,…
Sweet Sue, Just You Every little star above knows the one I love And the…
T'ain't Nobody's Biz-Ness If I Do If I should take a notion, to jump into the…
Take It Easy Take it easy, be a sport Just remember life is short If…
Tea for Two I'm discontented with homes that are rented so I have…
That Old Feeling Last night I started out happy Last night my heart was…
That Sheik of Araby "I'm the Sheik of Araby, Your love belongs to me. At…
That's All A man works hard then comes on home, Expects to find…
The Bells of San Raquel The bells of San Raquel Are ringing out across the blue …
The Curse of an Aching Heart I've been sitting here In this room Writing about you Just l…
The Darktown Strutter's Ball ILL BE DOWN TO GET YOU IN A TAXI HONEY BETTER…
The Darktown Strutters Ball THE DARKTOWN STRUTTERS BALL I'LL BE DOWN TO GET YOU IN…
The Flat Floot Floogie Oh, the flat foot floogie with a floy, floy, Flat…
The Jitterbug Waltz The night is getting on, the band is getting show The…
The Joint Is Jumpin' They have a new expression along old Harlem way, That tells…
and many more tracks by Fats Waller.
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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@josephcooper4757
From 1:06 - 1:26 or so, It's the music used in the intermission and ending credits of the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".
@joannemach1868
great!
@andrewkennaugh1065
In other words, those privileged Oxbridge graduates ripped off Fats Waller in order to make
a few extra quid.......😊
I
@skiddoo-fr9ex
@Andrew Kennaugh - you are making a lot of assumptions there, starting with the big assumption that royalties weren't paid, which seems unlikely if the tune was still under copyright. Whoever owns the rights would have been all over it if the people who made the film didn't pay, which seems impossible as information about the film notes that Waller wrote this music. Beyond that, the assumption that the Python team itself would be responsible if the production company did not pay is baseless. It's likely enough that they made the suggestion to use the movie, and certainly would not have hidden who was playing it. Also, there is almost no chance that any royalty money would have gone to Waller's estate. He routinely sold off his rights for next to nothing, and even in cases where he didn't, things like this often were sold from one publisher to another over the years. Waller did have agents who screwed him mightily as well, and it's possible they had the rights assigned to them back in the 1920s or '30s.
I hold no brief for the Python bunch, but making accusations based on thin air serves no one.
@johnlandis2552
Mr. Waller was one of those rare musicians who could make us smile just by playing his wonderful music;thanks for posting this!
@ChristopherSyn1
More recently Dudley Moore had the same mixture of music and comedy
@flipachikadoodlemc-yt9427
Don't forget Scott Joplin
@exmachinadea
People who don't love this kind of music must have no joy in their souls.
@brianradomski
i've got troubles and hurts galore but FATS is my therapy!!!
@andrewkennaugh1065
exmachinadea the problem is, millions of people have never even heard this music.,😋😎