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Fats Waller
Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. His best-known compositions, "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose", were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1984 and 1999. Waller copyrighted over 400 songs, many of them 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". It is likely that he composed many more popular songs than he has been credited with: when in financial difficulties he had a habit of selling songs to other writers and performers who claimed them as their own. Waller started playing the piano at the age of six and became a professional organist at 15. By the age of 18, he was a recording artist. He was a prolific songwriter, and one of the most popular performers of his era, touring internationally and achieving critical and commercial success in the United States and Europe. He died from pneumonia, aged 39. |
Birth and Death Data: Born May 21, 1904 (New York City), Died December 15, 1943 (Kansas City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1922 - 1951
Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, leader, vocalist, composer, songwriter, pipe organ, director, celeste, arranger, organ, electric organ, lyricist, speaker
Notes: Sometimes listed as Thomas Waller or Thomas Wright Waller.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 692 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-36773 | 10-in. | 11/17/1926 | St. Louis blues | Fats Waller | Pipe organ solo | instrumentalist, pipe organ | |
Victor | BVE-36774 | 10-in. | 11/17/1926 | Lenox Avenue blues | Fats Waller | Pipe organ solo | instrumentalist, pipe organ, composer | |
Victor | BVE-36810 | 10-in. | 10/11/1926 | Señorita mine | Savoy Bearcats | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BVE-37357 | 10-in. | 1/14/1927 | Soothin' syrup | Fats Waller | Pipe organ solo | instrumentalist, pipe organ, composer | |
Victor | BVE-37358 | 10-in. | 1/14/1927 | Sloppy water | Fats Waller | Pipe organ solo | instrumentalist, pipe organ, composer | |
Victor | BVE-37359 | 10-in. | 1/14/1927 | Loveless love | Fats Waller | Pipe organ solo | instrumentalist, pipe organ | |
Victor | BVE-37360 | 10-in. | 1/14/1927 | Harlem blues | Fats Waller | Pipe organ solo | instrumentalist, pipe organ | |
Victor | BVE-37361 | 10-in. | 1/14/1927 | Messin' around with the blues | Fats Waller | Pipe organ solo | composer, instrumentalist, pipe organ | |
Victor | BVE-37362 | 10-in. | 1/14/1927 | The rusty pail | Fats Waller | Pipe organ solo | instrumentalist, pipe organ, composer | |
Victor | BVE-37819 | 10-in. | 2/16/1927 | Stompin' the bug | Fats Waller | Pipe organ solo | instrumentalist, pipe organ | |
Victor | BVE-37820 | 10-in. | 2/16/1927 | Hog-maw stomp | Fats Waller | Pipe organ solo | instrumentalist, pipe organ, composer | |
Victor | BVE-37821 | 10-in. | 2/16/1927 | Black bottom is the latest fad | Fats Waller | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-37822 | 10-in. | 2/16/1927 | Blue black bottom | Fats Waller | Piano solo | composer, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-38044 | 10-in. | 5/20/1927 | Sugar | Fats Waller | Pipe organ solo | instrumentalist, pipe organ | |
Victor | BVE-38045 | 10-in. | 5/20/1927 | Sugar | Alberta Hunter | Female vocal solo, with pipe organ | instrumentalist, pipe organ | |
Victor | BVE-38046 | 10-in. | 5/20/1927 | Beale Street blues | Alberta Hunter | Female vocal solo, with pipe organ | instrumentalist, pipe organ | |
Victor | BVE-38047 | 10-in. | 5/20/1927 | Beale Street blues | Fats Waller | Pipe organ solo | instrumentalist, pipe organ | |
Victor | BVE-38048 | 10-in. | 5/20/1927 | I'm going to see my ma | Alberta Hunter | Female vocal solo, with pipe organ | instrumentalist, pipe organ | |
Victor | BVE-38049 | 10-in. | 5/20/1927 | I'm going to see my ma | Fats Waller | Pipe organ solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-38050 | 10-in. | 5/20/1927 | Fats Waller stomp | Morris' Hot Babies ; Fats Waller | Jazz/dance ensemble | composer, instrumentalist, pipe organ | |
Victor | BVE-38051 | 10-in. | 5/20/1927 | Savannah blues | Morris' Hot Babies ; Fats Waller | Jazz/dance ensemble | instrumentalist, pipe organ, piano | |
Victor | BVE-38052 | 10-in. | 5/20/1927 | Won't you take me home? | Morris' Hot Babies ; Fats Waller | Jazz/dance ensemble | instrumentalist, pipe organ | |
Victor | BVE-38496 | 10-in. | 4/27/1927 | St. Louis shuffle | Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BVE-39559 | 10-in. | 8/11/1927 | Whiteman stomp | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BVE-40077 | 10-in. | 11/14/1927 | Florence | Juanita Stinnette | Female vocal solo, with pipe organ | instrumentalist, pipe organ |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Waller, Fats," accessed September 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101963.
Waller, Fats. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved September 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101963.
"Waller, Fats." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 September 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Fats Waller
Discogs: Fats Waller
Allmusic: Fats Waller
Apple Music: Fats Waller
Grove: Fats Waller
IMSLP: Fats Waller
IMDb: Fats Waller
Britannica: Fats Waller
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Waller, Fats, 1904-1943 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50024199
Wikidata: Fats Waller - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q310476
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/54334148
MusicBrainz: Fats Waller - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/569fc5bf-bcb6-4bc5-9a00-bd0d258e34f1
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