Fats Waller facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fats Waller
Waller in 1938
Background information
Birth name	Thomas Wright Waller
Born	(1904-05-21)May 21, 1904 New York City, U.S.
Died	December 15, 1943(1943-12-15) (aged 39) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Genres	Dixieland jazz swing stride ragtime
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instruments	Piano, vocals, organ
Years active	1918–1943

Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (born May 21, 1904 – died December 15, 1943) was an amazing American jazz musician. He played the piano, organ, and even sang! He was also a funny entertainer. Fats was known for his special way of playing the piano called 'Harlem stride'. This style helped shape how jazz piano is played today.

Two of his most famous songs are "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose." These songs are so important that they were put into the Grammy Hall of Fame! He wrote over 400 songs, often working with his friend Andy Razaf. Andy Razaf said Fats was "the soul of melody" and "a bubbling bundle of joy." He made the piano sing! Fats started playing piano at age six and became a professional organist by 15. By 18, he was already recording music. He was a very popular performer, traveling all over the world and becoming famous in the United States and Europe. Fats Waller sadly passed away from pneumonia when he was 39 years old.

Fats Waller's Early Life and Music Beginnings

Fats Waller was born in New York City on May 21, 1904. He was one of 11 children, but only five lived past childhood. His mother, Adeline Locket Waller, was a musician, and his father, Reverend Edward Martin Waller, was a pastor.

Fats started playing the piano when he was just six years old. Four years later, he began playing the organ at his father's church. His mother taught him music, and he also took other music lessons. He paid for these lessons by working in a grocery store.

When he was 15, Fats left high school to work as an organist at the Lincoln Theater in Harlem. There, he earned $32 a week. Within a year, he wrote his first ragtime song. He became a student and later a friend of the famous stride pianist James P. Johnson. Fats also studied music at the Juilliard School.

His first recordings, "Muscle Shoals Blues" and "Birmingham Blues," were made in October 1922. He was only 18! His first published song, "Squeeze Me," came out in 1924.

Fats Waller's Amazing Music Career

The famous pianist Oscar Levant once called Fats Waller "the black Horowitz," comparing him to a very skilled classical pianist. Fats worked with his friend and songwriter Andy Razaf on many projects. They wrote music for several successful Broadway shows. These included "Keep Shufflin'" in 1928 and "Hot Chocolates" in 1929.

Fats Waller is thought to have written many popular songs in the 1920s and 1930s. Sometimes, he sold these songs for small amounts of money. Because of this, other writers and performers sometimes got credit for his work.

One song often linked to Fats Waller is "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby." This song became famous when Adelaide Hall sang it in the Broadway show Blackbirds of 1928. Some people believe Fats Waller and Andy Razaf wrote this song. Fats Waller himself once said he sold a song for $500 to another songwriter.

A musician named Gene Sedric, who played with Fats in the 1930s, said Fats was very relaxed in the recording studio. He made everyone else feel relaxed too. Often, they only needed one try to record a song!

Fats Waller played with many other great musicians, including Nathaniel Shilkret and Fletcher Henderson.

A Surprising Kidnapping Story

In 1926, something very unusual happened to Fats Waller in Chicago. After a performance, four men grabbed him and put him in a car. They drove him to the Hawthorne Inn, which was owned by the famous Al Capone. Fats was scared, but when he got inside, he found a party happening. He was pushed towards a piano and told to play. Fats soon realized he was the "surprise guest" for Al Capone's birthday party! He was very relieved that they didn't want to hurt him.

Recording Success and Famous Songs

In 1926, Fats Waller started recording with Victor Talking Machine Company/RCA Records. This was his main record company for the rest of his life. He recorded organ solos like "St. Louis Blues" and his own song "Lenox Avenue Blues."

Fats made many important solo piano recordings. These included his own songs like "Handful of Keys," "Smashing Thirds," and "Valentine Stomp." In 1934, he started recording with his small band, called Fats Waller and his Rhythm. This group usually had six musicians.

Fats wrote many well-known songs, such as "Squeeze Me" (1919), "Ain't Misbehavin'" (1929), and "Honeysuckle Rose" (1929). He also composed special piano pieces like "Handful of Keys" and "Viper's Drag".

International Fame and Movies

Fats Waller was very successful touring in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1930s. He even appeared on one of the first BBC television broadcasts in 1938! While in Britain, he recorded songs on a special Compton Theatre organ at Abbey Road Studios.

He also appeared in several movies, including the famous film Stormy Weather in 1943. This movie came out just a few months before he passed away. For the Broadway show Hot Chocolates, he and Andy Razaf wrote "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue" (1929). This song became a big hit for singers like Ethel Waters and Louis Armstrong.

Fats Waller sometimes played classical organ pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach. He influenced many jazz pianists who came after him, like Count Basie and Erroll Garner. Besides his amazing playing, Fats was also known for his funny jokes and comments during his performances.

Between 1926 and 1927, Fats recorded many pipe organ solos. These were the first times jazz music was played on a large church organ. In 1927, he played the organ for movies in Chicago, and people praised his "witty" and "eccentric" playing.

His song "A Little Bit Independent" was a number one hit for two weeks in 1935. He also had other popular songs like "Whose Honey Are You?" and "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie."

Broadway Musicals and Breaking Barriers

Later in his career, Fats Waller made history. He became the first African-American songwriter to create a hit Broadway musical that was mainly seen by white audiences. In 1943, producer Richard Kollmar hired Fats to write the musical Early to Bed.

This was a big step forward, showing how talented Fats Waller was and helping to break down barriers in entertainment. Six months after Early to Bed opened, it was still playing on Broadway when newspapers reported Fats Waller's passing.

Fats Waller's Family Life

Fats Waller married Edith Hatch in 1920. They had their first son, Thomas Waller Jr., in 1921. Edith and Fats divorced in 1923.

In 1926, Fats married Anita Rutherford. They had two sons together: Maurice Thomas Waller, born in 1927, and Ronald Waller, born in 1928.

In 1938, Fats Waller was one of the first African Americans to buy a home in the Addisleigh Park area of St. Albans, Queens, New York City. At that time, there were rules that tried to stop people of color from buying homes in certain areas. After Fats bought his home, and after some legal challenges, many other successful African Americans followed. This included famous jazz artists like Count Basie, Lena Horne, and Ella Fitzgerald.

Fats Waller's Passing and Legacy

Fats Waller became sick with pneumonia and passed away on December 15, 1943. He was traveling on a train called the Super Chief near Kansas City, Missouri. His last recording session was in Detroit, Michigan. Fats was returning to New York City after the big success of his movie Stormy Weather and a successful show in Santa Monica, California.

More than 4,200 people came to his funeral at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. The speaker at the funeral, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., said that Fats Waller "always played to a packed house." After the service, he was cremated, and his ashes were scattered over Harlem from an airplane.

One of Fats Waller's descendants is the professional football player Darren Waller, who is his great-grandson.

Honors and Awards for Fats Waller

A Broadway musical called Ain't Misbehavin' was created in 1978 to showcase Fats Waller's songs. The show was a huge success, running for over 1600 performances! It won Tony Awards and featured talented actors like Nell Carter. The show included many of his famous songs like "Honeysuckle Rose" and "This Joint Is Jumpin'."

Fats Waller has received many important awards and honors for his contributions to music:

Some of Fats Waller's recordings have been put into the Grammy Hall of Fame. This special award honors recordings that are at least 25 years old and are very important for their quality or history.

Pianist Ralph Sutton worked hard to keep Fats Waller's music alive after his passing. Ralph Sutton was a big fan of Fats, saying, "I've never heard a piano man swing any better than Fats."

Actor and band leader Conrad Janis also helped keep the stride piano music of Fats Waller and James P. Johnson popular. In 1949, when he was 18, Conrad Janis formed a band with older jazz legends. This group included James P. Johnson on piano.

Key Recordings by Fats Waller

Here are some of Fats Waller's important recordings:

Fats Waller's Film Appearances

Fats Waller also appeared in several movies during his career:

See also

• List of ragtime composers
• Cotton Club