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'".
Handful of Keys
Fats Waller Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I like to tinkle on an old piana
I like to play it in a subtle mannah
I get a lot of pleasure
With a spano' keys
Underneath my finger tips
Tricklin' off o' my lips
A handful of keys
And a song to sing
Now how could you ask for more?
Than ticklin' the ivory
Singin' jive
I repeat what I said before
I like to sing a little tune that's mellah
I like to vocalize
There's nothin' swellah
I love to have a supple melody
Just tricklin' off o' my lips
A handful of keys
And a song to sing
Now how could you ask for more?
Than ticklin' the ivory
Singin' jive
I repeat what I said before
I like to tinkle on an old piana
I like to play it in a subtle mannah
I know I'll always be the top banana
With a handful of keys
I like to play it in a subtle mannah
I get a lot of pleasure
With a spano' keys
Underneath my finger tips
Tricklin' off o' my lips
A handful of keys
Now how could you ask for more?
Than ticklin' the ivory
Singin' jive
I repeat what I said before
I like to sing a little tune that's mellah
I like to vocalize
There's nothin' swellah
I love to have a supple melody
Just tricklin' off o' my lips
A handful of keys
And a song to sing
Now how could you ask for more?
Than ticklin' the ivory
Singin' jive
I repeat what I said before
I like to tinkle on an old piana
I like to play it in a subtle mannah
I know I'll always be the top banana
With a handful of keys
The beginning verse of Fats Waller's song "Handful of Keys," speaks to how much he enjoys playing the piano in a sophisticated way. He loves the feeling he gets from running his fingers over the keys, and feeling the music coming to life. The simple pleasure he experiences from playing is enough for him, and he also enjoys singing while he plays. Throughout the song, he emphasizes the ease of the process, noting how happy he is to play even an old piano.
Furthermore, the chorus celebrates the simplicity and joy of playing music – he only needs a "handful of keys" and something to sing, which he notes is already more than enough. The phrase "ticklin' the ivory" also reflects how playful and almost effortless the process is for him. The bridge of the song continues to emphasize the pleasure and relaxation that come from singing and playing the piano melody.
Overall, the song "Handful of Keys" speaks to the love of music on a personal and interactive level. It reflects Waller's ability to find joy in something as simple as playing an old piano, and the simplicity of music as something that can be enjoyed and appreciated by everyone.
Line by Line Meaning
I like to tinkle on an old piana
I enjoy playing an old piano.
I like to play it in a subtle mannah
I prefer playing it in a delicate manner.
I get a lot of pleasure
It brings me great joy.
With a spano' keys
Using many keys.
Underneath my finger tips
Beneath my fingers.
Tricklin' off o' my lips
Flowing from my lips.
A handful of keys
Playing the piano keys.
And a song to sing
Accompanying it with a song.
Now how could you ask for more?
What else could you possibly need?
Than ticklin' the ivory
Pressing the piano keys.
Singin' jive
Singing lively music.
I repeat what I said before
I am reiterating my earlier statement.
I like to sing a little tune that's mellah
I enjoy singing a mellifluous tune.
I like to vocalize
I enjoy singing.
There's nothin' swellah
There is nothing better.
I love to have a supple melody
I enjoy a soft and flexible melody.
Just tricklin' off o' my lips
Flowing from my lips.
I know I'll always be the top banana
I am aware that I am the best at what I do.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: THOMAS WALLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Andrew Barrett
Check out Tom Roberts, Bernd Lhotzky, Jim Turner, Louis Mazetier, David Boeddinghaus, Mike Lipskin, Brad Kay, Benjamin Intartaglia and (of course) Dick Hyman.
Stephanie Trick has been working hard over the years and made a huge amount of improvement.
All of these folks can kick my butt around the block although they themselves would all defer to the original greats of course.
Mike Lipskin was a student of Willie "The Lion" Smith but paradoxically has recorded in a perfect Fats Waller style.
Tom Roberts has perfectly transcribed, performed and recorded Luckey Roberts' and certain Willie "The Lion" Smith solos and is master at those styles and others.
Brad Kay's strong suit is probably vocal accompaniment and also "modern" 1920s jazz piano like Rube Bloom and early Duke Ellington with a lot of the correct chord voicings and inversions.
David Boeddinghaus has studied Frank Signorelli's style for many years but can also play in other styles and is quite authentic.
For that matter, Robbie Rhodes is also quite authentic although he doesn't usually seem to try to be a "stride" pianist (rather, his style is influenced by several other of his heroes like, most obviously, Wally Rose and Pete Wendling).
Louis Mazetier has great range but I've been most impressed by his re-creations of Donald Lambert's arrangements.
Nathan Bello has made note-for-note transcriptions of James Blythe's and Clarence Johnson's piano rolls and many of their audio recordings, and also performs them perfectly.
Benjamin Intartaglia has transcribed nearly all of Fats Waller's piano rolls and also many of his solo ORGAN recordings, and can perform them.
Jim Turner's recording of Caprice Rag is the only one that (IMO) can stand equally with JPJ's own recording and rolls of this piece.
I am not aware of any single pianist who has come close to sounding like James P. Johnson, although I try my best
(we all try our best).
Andrew Barrett
Several people have transcribed Fats Waller's piano solos.
Paul Posnak has done a printed folio called "Fats Waller: The Great Solos 1929-1937" which includes 16 pieces written out (he has also recorded a CD for Naxos of him playing these transcriptions), of which both the folio and CD are available in various places online (although I recommend Mr. Waller's original recordings far above Mr. Posnak's interpretations of them).
Paul Marcorelles has transcribed THREE folios of Fats Waller piano solos,
volumes 1 (17 pieces); 2 (17 pieces) and 3 (18 pieces) available here:
https://blueblackjazz.com/en/artist/1/fats-waller
In addition, several Waller transcriptions are available in various Riccardo Scivales folios, available here:
https://www.riccardoscivales.com/shop/
Finally, Benjamin Intartaglia has transcribed nearly all of Fats Waller's piano rolls, except for the recently-rediscovered "West Indies Blues" which only turned up a few years ago. I don't know how currently to get Benjamin's transcriptions, as his website has been down for several months now.
Gustavo Weckesser
Gentlemen, we are listening to THE MASTER!!!
God bless you Fats for bringing to us a century of happines!!!
Piotr Barcz
This recording is fantastic! I love that really tight tone of these old shellac recordings!
MichaelJHuman
Wow, this is great. I love how he uses almost the full range of the piano.
Dave Hunter
In my opinion, no one comes close to Fats Waller. His sense of timing, rhythm and humor make him one of the all-time greats. What incredible musicianship. His music is some of my most favorite in the world.
Kenneth Baskin
Art Tatum
Dave Hunter
Art Tatum was amazing, as well, Noodle-Neck. His speed and precision are out of this world. More people should know and appreciate his work. Thank you for sharing.
oncexist
for me jelly roll morton is the best, but there's indeed some strange voodoo around waller.
Dave Hunter
I agree, oncexist. Jellyroll was an amazing entity unto himself. The likes of him, Willie "The Lion" Smith and Fats will never be seen again. Thank you for your honest comments.
gingervytis
Dave Hunter Yes, but Tatum once said, "Fats, man. It all comes from Fats."
saskgeese
Never fails to raise a smile! A great showman and awesome musician!