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'".
Stardust
Fats Waller Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Steals across the meadows of my heart
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Always reminding me that we're apart
You wander down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by.
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
The lonely nights
Dreaming of a song
The melody
Haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
You are in my arms
The nightingale
Tells his fairytale
Of paradise, where roses grew
Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain.
The song "Stardust" by Fats Waller is a beautiful and melancholic ballad that talks about the pain of separation, the persistence of memories, and the healing power of music. The lyrics depict a scene where the purple dusk of twilight is spreading across the meadows of the singer's heart, and even though the stars are climbing high in the sky, they always remind him that the one he loves is far away. The second verse reveals that the singer spends his lonely nights dreaming of a song that haunts his reverie, and transports him back to a time when his love was new, and every kiss was an inspiration. He reminisces about the past, but acknowledges that it is gone, and now his only consolation is in the stardust of a song that reminds him of the memory of love's refrain.
The third verse takes a more romantic turn, as the singer imagines himself holding his lover in his arms, surrounded by the bright stars and the sweet songs of the nightingale. He dreams of paradise, where roses grew, and even though he knows it is in vain, he finds solace in the fact that the memory of that stardust melody will remain in his heart, like the refrain of a love that once was.
Overall, the lyrics of "Stardust" offer a poignant meditation on the ephemeral nature of love, the power of music to evoke memories and emotions, and the timeless beauty of longing and nostalgia. The song has become a classic of American popular music, and its haunting melody and poetic lyrics have inspired countless covers and adaptations over the years.
Line by Line Meaning
And now the purple dusk of twilight time
The end of the day and the fading light is reminding me of our separation
Steals across the meadows of my heart
The feeling of sorrow and pain dominates my innermost self
High up in the sky the little stars climb
The stars resemble the hope that I have in my soul
Always reminding me that we're apart
The stars' distance remind me of the gap between us
You wander down the lane and far away
You left me and now you're gone to a distant place
Leaving me a song that will not die
What you left behind was a song of love that remains evergreen
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The love we once shared now exists only as a memory
The music of the years gone by.
The song recalls the moments of the love we once had
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
I sometimes contemplate how I'm spending
The lonely nights
The sleepless and solitary nights
Dreaming of a song
Asleep or awake, I always dream about the song
The melody
The tune
Haunts my reverie
It's always present in my thoughts
And I am once again with you
The emotion takes me back to the time we spent together
When our love was new
Those were the days when our love first began
And each kiss an inspiration
Every kiss inspired and ignited our passion for each other
But that was long ago
It's been a while now since then
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
The song is now my solace and helps to ease my pain
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
Outside the garden wall, when the stars are shining bright
You are in my arms
I hold you close in my embrace
The nightingale
The bird's sweet song
Tells his fairytale
In its chirping, it spreads its sweet fairy tale
Of paradise, where roses grew
Of the lovely place where roses thrived in abundance
Though I dream in vain
I am aware that my dreams will never come true
In my heart it will remain
In my heart, however, the feeling will persist
My stardust melody
My memory of the stardust song
The memory of love's refrain.
A recollection of the rhythm of our love
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER GENTRY, JOHN HUTCHINSON DEAN, MATTHEW EVERITT, SIMON IAN WHITE, STUART BLACK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tubeytubetuber
Fats Waller was such a charming musician.. this is beautifully played.
@gargan1977tua
What a gorgeous touch, he was a master player and a wonderful composer.
@AnthonySmith22
75 years in the future and Fats is still the man.
@bryanleigh6497
85
@aoxomoxoa88
Dad used to play the piano, did loads of gigs around London and modelled himself on "Fats", dressed like him too! I was brought up with this music and I love it!
@dknoire
Imagine you sit in a bar and hear this song played by him.
@big3ye378
+Mado Oh my god, I love imagining that.
@argus1393
Oh god if only......
@johntechwriter
He's in several movies from the '30s. Steals every scene of course. Here he does justice to Hoagy Carmichael's masterpiece.
@missmerrily4830
So sad that we never will, but aren't we lucky to live in a time when we can access such great music as this so easily?