Fats Waller
Fats Waller | |
---|---|
Born | Thomas Wright Waller May 21, 1904 New York City, U.S. |
Died | December 15, 1943 | (aged 39)
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1918–1943 |
Spouses |
|
Children | 3 |
Relatives | Darren Waller(great-grandson) |
Thomas Wright"Fats"Waller(May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an Americanjazz pianist,organist,composer, and singer.[1]His innovations in the Harlemstride stylelaid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star in the jazz and swing eras, he toured internationally, achieving critical and commercial success in the United States and Europe. His best-known compositions, "Ain't Misbehavin'"and"Honeysuckle Rose",were inducted into theGrammy Hall of Famein 1984 and 1999.[2]
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.[3]He died from pneumonia, aged 39.
Early life
[edit]Waller was the seventh child of 11 (five of whom survived childhood) born to Adeline Locket Waller, a musician, and Reverend Edward Martin Waller, a trucker and pastor in New York City.[4][5]He started playing the piano when he was six and began playing the organ at his father's church four years later. His mother instructed him in his youth, and he attended other music lessons, paying for them by working in a grocery store.[4]Waller attendedDeWitt Clinton High Schoolfor one semester, but left school at 15 to work as an organist at theLincoln TheaterinHarlem,where he earned $32 a week.[6][7]Within 12 months he had composed his firstrag.He was the prize pupil and later the friend and colleague of thestridepianistJames P. Johnson.[8]Waller also studied composition at theJuilliard SchoolwithCarl BohmandLeopold Godowsky.[9]His mother died on November 10, 1920, from a stroke due to diabetes.[10]
Waller's first recordings, "Muscle Shoals Blues" and "Birmingham Blues," were made in October 1922 forOkeh Records.[11]That year, he also made his first playerpiano roll,"Got to Cool My Doggies Now".[11]Waller's first published composition, "Squeeze Me", was published in 1924.[4]
Career
[edit]Pianist and composerOscar Levantcalled Waller "the blackHorowitz".[12]Working with his long-time songwriting partner, lyricistAndy Razaf,Fats also wrote the music and/or performed in several successfulBroadwaymusicals, including 1928'sKeep Shufflin',[13]1929'sHot Chocolates[14]and (with lyricistGeorge Marion Jr.) 1943'sEarly To Bed.[15]
Waller is believed to have composed many novelty tunes in the 1920s and 1930s and sold them for small sums,[3]attributed to another composer and lyricist.[16]
Standards attributed to Waller, sometimes controversially, include "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby".The song was made famous byAdelaide Hallin the Broadway showBlackbirds of 1928.[17]
Biographer Barry Singer offered circumstantial evidence that this song was written by Waller and lyricist Andy Razaf and provided a description of the sale given by Waller to theNew York Postin 1929 – he sold the song for $500 to a white songwriter for use in a financially successful show (consistent withJimmy McHugh's contributions toHarry Delmar's Revels,1927, and then toBlackbirds of 1928).[3]He noted that early handwritten manuscripts in the Dana Library Institute of Jazz Studies of "Spreadin' Rhythm Around" (Jimmy McHugh 1935) are in Waller's hand.[3][18]Jazz historian Paul S. Machlin commented that the Singer conjecture has "considerable [historical] justification".[19]According to a biography by Waller's son Maurice, Waller told his son never to play the song within earshot because he had to sell it when he needed money.[5]Maurice Waller wrote that his father objected to hearing "On the Sunny Side of the Street"on the radio.[16]The famous songwriting team of Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields said the song was inspired by their watching a young couple window shopping at Tiffany's.
The anonymous sleeve notes on the 1960RCA VictoralbumHandful of Keysstate that 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". In the same notes are comments by clarinetistGene Sedric,who recorded with Waller in the 1930s. "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 withNathaniel Shilkret,Gene Austin,Erskine Tate,Fletcher Henderson,McKinney's Cotton Pickers,andAdelaide Hall.
According to Waller, he was kidnapped in Chicago while leaving a performance in 1926. Four men bundled him into a car and took him to the Hawthorne Inn, owned byAl Capone.Waller was ordered inside the building and found a party taking place. With a 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 was relieved that the kidnappers had no intention of killing him.[20]
In 1926, Waller began his recording association with theVictor Talking Machine Company/RCA Victor,his principal record company for the rest of his life, with the organ solos "St. Louis Blues"and his composition" Lenox Avenue Blues. "Although he recorded with several groups, including Morris's Hot Babes (1927), Fats Waller's Buddies (1929) (one of the earliest multiracial 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 compositions:" Handful of Keys "," Smashing Thirds "," Numb Fumblin'",and" Valentine Stomp "(1929). After sessions withTed Lewis(1931),Jack Teagarden(1931), andBilly Banks' 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 includedHerman Autrey(sometimes replaced byBill ColemanorJohn "Bugs" Hamilton),Gene SedricorRudy Powell,andAl Casey.[21]
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 composed stride piano display pieces such as" Handful of Keys, "" Valentine Stomp, "and"Viper's Drag."
He enjoyed success touring the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1930s, appearing on one of the firstBBCtelevision broadcasts on September 30, 1938, from the Alexandra Palace studios in London, performing "I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby," "Honeysuckle Rose," "Neglected," "Hallelujah," and "Truckin'".[22]While in Britain, Waller also recorded a number of songs forEMIon theirCompton Theatre organlocated in theirAbbey Road StudiosinSt John's Wood.He appeared in several feature films and short subject films, most notablyStormy Weatherin 1943, which was released July 21, just months before his death. For the hit Broadway showHot Chocolates,he and Razaf wrote "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue"(1929), which became a hit forEthel WatersandLouis Armstrong.
Waller occasionally performedBachorgan pieces for small groups. He influenced many pre-bebopjazz pianists;Count BasieandErroll Garnerboth revived his hit songs. In addition to his playing, Waller was known for his humorous 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. In April 1927, Waller played the organ at the Vendome in Chicago for movies alongside Louis Armstrong, where his organ playing was praised for "witty cueing" and "eccentric stop coupling."[23]
Waller's RCA Victor recording of "A Little Bit Independent," written byJoe BurkeandEdgar Leslie,was No. 1 onYour Hit Paradefor two weeks in 1935. He also charted with "Whose Honey Are You?", "Lulu's Back in Town," "Sweet and Low," "Truckin'","Rhythm and Romance, "" Sing an Old Fashioned Song to a Young Sophisticated Lady, "" West Wind, "" All My Life, "" It's a Sin to Tell a Lie, "" Let's Sing Again, "" Cross Patch, "" You're Not the Kind, "" Bye Bye Baby, "" You're Laughing at Me, "" I Love to Whistle, "" Good for Nothing, "" Two Sleepy People ", and" Little Curly Hair in a Highchair. "[24]
Soundies
[edit]Today's audiences can see and hear Waller performing his own works inSoundiesmusical films. These three-minute selections were filmed in 1941 in New York, by producerFred Waller(no relation) and director Warren Murray. Waller filmed four songs: "Ain't Misbehavin'","Honeysuckle Rose, "" Your Feet's Too Big, "and" The Joint Is Jumpin'".The films originally played in coin-operated movie jukeboxes and were later reprinted for home movies, television, and video.[25]
Broadway musicals
[edit]Later in Waller's career, he had the distinction of becoming the first African-American songwriter to compose a hit Broadway musical that was seen by a mostly white audience. Broadway producerRichard Kollmar's hiring of Waller to create the 1943 musicalEarly to Bedwas recalled in a 2016 essay about Waller byJohn McWhorter.
Even as late as 1943, the idea of a black composer writing the score for a standard-issue white show was unheard of. When Broadway performer and producer Richard Kollmar began planningEarly to Bed,his original idea was for Waller to perform in it as a comic character, not to write the music. Waller was, after all, as much a comedian as a musician. Comedy rarely dates well, but almost 80 years later, his comments and timing during "Your Feet's Too Big" are as funny as anything on Comedy Central, and he nearly walks away with the movieStormy Weatherwith just one musical scene and a bit of mugging later on, despite the competition ofBill "Bojangles" Robinson,Lena Horne,and theNicholas Brothers. Kollmar's original choice for composer [ofEarly to Bed] was Ferde Grofé, best known as the orchestrator of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," whose signature compositions were portentous concert suites. But Grofé withdrew, and it is to Kollmar's credit that he realized that he had a top-rate pop-song composer available in Waller. Waller's double duty as composer and performer was short-lived. During a cash crisis and in an advanced state of intoxication, Waller threatened to leave the production unless Kollmar bought the rights to his Early to Bed music for $1,000. (This was typical of Waller, who often sold melodies for quick cash when in his cups. The evidence suggests, for example, that the standards "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street" were Waller tunes.) Waller came to his senses the next day, but Kollmar decided that his drinking habits made him too risky a proposition for eight performances a week. From then on, Waller was the show's composer only, with lyrics by George Marion, whose best-remembered work today is the script for the Astaire-Rogers filmThe Gay Divorcée.[26]
Six months after the premiere ofEarly to Bed,it was still playing in a Broadway theater; at that point, newspapers reported Waller's premature death.
Personal life
[edit]In 1920, Waller married Edith Hatch, with whom he had a son, Thomas Waller Jr., in 1921. In 1923, Hatch divorced Waller.[27]Waller married Anita Rutherford in 1926.[28]Together, they had a son, Maurice Thomas Waller, born on September 10, 1927.[29]In 1928, Waller and Rutherford had their second son, Ronald Waller.[27]
In 1938, Waller was one of the first African Americans to purchase a home in the Addisleigh Park section ofSt. Albans, Queens,a New York City community with racially restrictive covenants. After his purchase, and litigation in the New York State courts, many prosperous African Americans followed, including many jazz artists, such asCount Basie,Lena Horne,Ella Fitzgerald,andMilt Hinton.[30]
Death and descendants
[edit]Waller contractedpneumoniaand died on December 15, 1943, while traveling aboard the famous cross-country Los Angeles–Chicago train theSuper ChiefnearKansas City, Missouri.Waller was returning to New York City from Los Angeles, after the smash success ofStormy Weather,and a successful engagement at the Zanzibar Room inSanta Monica, California,during which he had fallen ill.[31]: 6 More than 4,200 people were estimated to have attended his funeral atAbyssinian Baptist ChurchinHarlem,[31]: 7 which promptedAdam Clayton Powell Jr.,who delivered the eulogy, to say that Waller "always played to a packed house."[32]Afterwards, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered over Harlem from an airplane piloted by an unidentified African-AmericanWorld War Iaviator.[33]
American footballplayerDarren Walleris his great-grandson.[34]
Tribute artists
[edit]Waller had many admirers, during and after his heyday. In 1939, while nightclubbing in Harlem, Waller discovered a white stride pianist playing Waller tunes – the youngHarry Gibson.Waller tipped him handsomely and then hired him to be his relief pianist during his own performances.
Waller also had contemporaries in recording studios. Waller recorded for Victor, soDecca Recordshired singer-pianistBob Howardfor recordings aimed at Waller's audience, andColumbia Recordsfollowed suit withPutney Dandridge.
Probably the most talented pianist to keep the music of Waller alive in the years after his death wasRalph Sutton,who focused his career on playing stride piano. Sutton was a great admirer of Waller, saying, "I've never heard a piano man swing any better than Fats – or swing a band better than he could. I never get tired of him. Fats has been with me from the first, and he'll be with me as long as I live."[35]
Actor and bandleaderConrad Janisalso did a lot to keep the stride piano music of Waller andJames P. Johnsonalive. In 1949, as an 18-year-old, Janis put together a band of aging jazz greats, consisting of James P. Johnson (piano),Henry Goodwin(trumpet),Edmond Hall(clarinet),Pops Foster(bass), andBaby Dodds(drums), with Janis on trombone.[36]
ABroadway musicalshowcasing Waller tunes entitledAin't Misbehavin'was produced in 1978 and featured Nell Carter, Andre de Shields, Armelia McQueen, Ken Page, and Charlaine Woodard. (The show andNell CarterwonTony Awards.) The show opened at theLongacre Theatreand ran for more than 1600 performances. It was revived on Broadway in 1988 at theAmbassador Theatrewith the original Broadway Cast. Performed by five African-American actors, the show included such songs as "Honeysuckle Rose," "This Joint Is Jumpin'",and"Ain't Misbehavin'."
In 1981,Thin Lizzyreleased the albumRenegade,which contained the song "Fats", co-written byPhil LynottandSnowy Whiteas a tribute to Waller.[37]
Recognition and awards
[edit]Year Inducted | Title |
---|---|
2008 | Gennett RecordsWalk of Fame |
2005 | Jazz at Lincoln Center:Nesuhi ErtegunJazz Hall of Fame |
1993 | Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award |
1989 | Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame |
1970 | Songwriters Hall of Fame |
Waller's recordings were inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame,a specialGrammy Awardestablished in 1973 to honour recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance."
Grammy Hall of Fame Awards[38] | |||||
Year Recorded | Title | Genre | Label | Year Inducted | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1934 | "Honeysuckle Rose" | Jazz (single) | Victor | 1999 | — |
1929 | "Ain't Misbehavin'" | Jazz (single) | Victor | 1984 | Listed in the National Recording Registry by theLibrary of Congressin 2004. |
In popular culture
[edit]- Waller is the subject of the Irish poetMichael Longley's "Elegy for Fats Waller".[39]
- Waller's version of "Louisiana Fairytale"was used for many years as the theme song to the American television seriesThis Old House.[40]
- Waller's church organ music featured prominently inDavid Lynch's filmEraserheadin 1977.[41]
- InMichel Gondry's 2008 filmBe Kind Rewind,the character Elroy Fletcher (portrayed byDanny Glover) tried to find proof that Fats Waller was born inPassaic, New Jerseyat the site of his titular video rental store. He was unable to find any proof of it. Later on in the film, after the "Sweded" videos were destroyed because of copyright violations, his employer Mike (portrayed byMos Def) led him and some people in their neighborhood in making analternate historydocumentary about Fats Waller with Mike portraying Fats Waller.[42]
- The story of Fats Waller's performance atAl Capone's birthday party was told in theMysteries at the MuseumSeason 21 episode "Columbus and the Mermaid, Skyscraper Snafu and Stealing the Show".[43]
- In 1950, the story of Fats Waller was retold as "The Shy Boy" in the weeklyDestination Freedomradio drama, written byRichard Durham.[44]
- ”Ain't Misbehavin'” by Fats Waller is featured in Diamond City Radio, a virtual station in the video game,Fallout 4,and likewise in its successor,Fallout 76,in its virtual Appalachia Radio. Included in the games' soundtracks, the composition enhances the retro post-apocalyptic atmosphere, receiving positive player reception for its nostalgic and immersive contribution to the experience.[45]Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz" also stars in 2007'sBioShock.
Key recordings
[edit]Source:[46]
Title | Recording date | Recording location | Label |
---|---|---|---|
"African Ripples" | November 16, 1934 | New York | Victor 24830 (reissued Bluebird B-10115) |
"After You've Gone" | March 21, 1930 | New York | Victor 22371-B |
"Ain't Misbehavin'" | February 8, 1929 | Camden, N.J. | Victor 22092, 22108 |
"All God's Chillun Got Wings" | August 28, 1938 | London | Victor 27460 |
"Alligator Crawl" | November 16, 1934 | New York | Victor 24830 (reissued Bluebird B-10098) |
"Baby Brown" | November 3, 1935 | New York | (only issued on LP) |
"Baby, Oh! Where Can You Be?" | August 29, 1929 | Camden, N.J. | Victor unissued, issued on LPV-550 |
"Basin Street Blues" | November 3, 1935 | New York | Bluebird B-10115 |
"Because of Once Upon a Time" | November 3, 1935 | New York | RFW |
"Believe It, Beloved" | November 3, 1935 | New York | Victor |
"Birmingham Blues" | October 21, 1922 | New York | Okeh4757-B |
"Blue Black Bottom" | February 16, 1927 | Camden, N.J. | Victor |
"Blue Turning Gray Over You" | November 3, 1935 | New York | Victor |
"California, Here I Come" | November 3, 1935 | New York | Victor |
"Carolina Shout" | May 13, 1941 | New York | Victor |
"Clothes Line Ballet" | November 3, 1935 | New York | Victor 25015 |
"I Can't Give You Anything but Love"(vocals byAdelaide Hall) | August 28, 1938 | London | HMV B8849 |
"Deep River" | August 28, 1938 | London | Victor 27459 |
"Goin' About" | November 9, 1929 | New York | Victor |
"Gladyse" | February 8, 1929 | Camden, N.J. | Victor |
"Go Down, Moses" | August 28, 1938 | London | Victor 27458 |
"Handful of Keys" | January 3, 1929 | Camden, N.J. | Victor V-38508 |
"Honeysuckle Rose"[47] | 1934 | New York | Victor |
"I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby" | 1931 | New York | Victor |
"I've Got A Feeling I'm Falling" | February 8, 1929 | Camden, N.J. | Victor |
"Jitterbug Waltz" | March 16, 1942 | Camden, N.J. | Victor |
"Keeping Out of Mischief Now" | November 6, 1937 | New York | Bluebird 10099 |
"Lennox Avenue Blues" | November 17, 1926 | Camden, N.J. | Victor 20357-B |
"Lonesome Road" | August 28, 1938 | London | Victor 27459 |
"Minor Drag" | January 3, 1929 | New York | Victor |
"Messin' Around with the Blues Blues" | January 14, 1927 | Camden, N.J. | Victor |
"My Fate Is in Your Hands" | April 12, 1929 | New York | Victor |
"My Feelin's are Hurt" | April 12, 1929 | New York | Victor |
"Numb Fumblin'" | January 3, 1929 | Camden, N.J. | Victor |
"Russian Fantasy" | November 3, 1935 | New York | Victor |
"Soothin' Syrup Stomp" | January 14, 1927 | Camden, N.J. | Victor |
"Sloppy Water Blues" | January 14, 1927 | Camden, N.J. | Victor |
"Smashing Thirds" | September 24, 1929 | New York | Victor |
"Sweet Savannah Sue" | February 8, 1929 | Camden, N.J. | Victor |
"The Rusty Pail" | January 14, 1927 | Camden, N.J. | Victor |
"That's All" | August 29, 1929 | Camden, N.J. | Victor 23260 |
"Valentine Stomp" | February 8, 1929 | Camden, N.J. | Victor |
"Viper's Drag" | November 16, 1934 | New York | Victor |
"Whose Honey Are You?" | March 6, 1935 | New York | Victor 24892 |
"Zonky" | November 3, 1935 | New York | Victor |
Filmography
[edit]Source:[46]
Title | Director | Year |
---|---|---|
King of Burlesque | Sidney Lanfield | 1936 |
Hooray for Love | Walter Lang | 1935 |
Soundiesshorts | Warren Murray | 1941 |
Stormy Weather | Andrew L. Stone | 1943 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Taylor, Stephen (2019).Fats Waller on the Air: The Radio Broadcasts and Discography.Scarecrow Press.ISBN978-0810856561.RetrievedJune 7,2019– via Google Books.
- ^Tenenholtz, David."Waller, Fats (Thomas Wright)".JAZZ.COM. Archived fromthe originalon April 6, 2009.RetrievedJuly 10,2013.
- ^abcdTyle, Chris (2012)."I Can't Give You Anything but Love(1928) ".JazzStandards.com.RetrievedApril 4,2014.
- ^abc"Thomas Wright Waller".Encyclopedia of World Biography (vol. 16)(2nd ed.). Detroit: Gale. 2004. pp. 81–82.
- ^abMaurice Waller; Anthony Calabrese (2017).Fats Waller.University of Minnesota Press. pp. 24 ff.ISBN978-1452956671.
- ^Pelisson, Gerard J.; Garvey III, James A. (2009).The Castle on the Parkway.Scarsdale, New York: The Hutch Press. p. 40.
- ^Ivy, James (2011). "Waller, Fats (1904–1943)". In Price, Emmett G. (ed.).Encyclopedia of African American Music.Santa Barbara: Greenwood. pp. 986–987.
- ^"James P. Johnson | American composer and pianist".Encyclopedia Britannica.RetrievedMay 13,2017.
- ^"Fats Waller, a 'master of jazz'".Baltimore Sun.February 2, 2002.RetrievedFebruary 15,2023.
- ^Machlin, Paul S. (1985).Stride: The Music of Fats Waller.Springer.ISBN978-1349085675.
- ^abBromberg, Howard (2012). "Waller, Fats". In Rollyson, Carl (ed.).The Twenties in America.Ipswich, MA: Salem Press. pp. 904–905.
- ^Palmer, David (1976).All You Need Is love: The Story of Popular Music.Grossman.ISBN0670114480.
- ^"Keep Shufflin'".Playbill.com.Playbill, Inc. February 27, 1928.RetrievedJanuary 26,2021.
Keep Shufflin' – Music: Thomas "Fats" Waller – "On The White Keys"
- ^"Hot Chocolates".Playbill.com.Playbill, Inc. June 20, 1929.RetrievedJanuary 26,2021.
Thomas "Fats" Waller – Music
- ^"Early To Bed".Playbill.com.Playbill, Inc. June 17, 1943.RetrievedJanuary 26,2021.
Thomas "Fats" Waller – Music
- ^abWaller, Maurice; Calabrese, Anthony (1977).Fats Waller.Schirmer. p. 164.
- ^Williams, Iain Cameron (2002).Underneath a Harlem Moon.Continuum.ISBN0826458939.
- ^Berger, Edward; Martin, Henry; Cayer, David; Morgenstern, Dan; Porter, Lewis, eds. (1996).Annual Review of Jazz Studies 7: 1994–1995.Scarecrow Press.ISBN978-0810831223.RetrievedJune 27,2014.
- ^Machlin, Paul S., ed. (2001).Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller: Performances in Transcription, 1927–1943, Volume 41.A-R Editions.ISBN978-0895794673.
- ^Waller-Calabrese, pp. 62–63.
- ^Yanow, Scott."Fats Waller: Profiles in Jazz".Syncopatedtimes.com.RetrievedMay 21,2020.
- ^Vitery, Edwin."Fats Waller in Europe: London".Rutgers.edu.
- ^Brothers, Thomas (2014).Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism.New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 184.ISBN978-0393065824.
- ^Fragias, Leonidas (2017).Your Hit Parade Charts: 1935–1940.Arts & Charts.
- ^MacGillivray, ScottandOkuda, Ted,The Soundies Book.New York: iUniverse, 2007, p. 275.ISBN978-0-595-42060-5
- ^McWhorter, John (October 14, 2016)."The Fats Waller You've Never Heard".City Journal.RetrievedApril 27,2020.
- ^abMachlin, Paul S. (1985).Stride: The Music of Fats Waller.Springer.ISBN978-1349085675.RetrievedJune 7,2019– via Google Books.
- ^Waller-Calabrese, 1977, p. 64.
- ^Waller-Calabrese, 1977, p. 70.
- ^Greene, Bryan,"This Green and Pleasant Land",inPoverty and Race,p. 3.
- ^abMachlin, Paul S. (1985).Stride: The Music of Fats Waller.Springer.ISBN978-1349085675– via Google Books.
- ^"Waller, Fats (Thomas Wright)".Jazz.com.Archived fromthe originalon April 6, 2009.RetrievedJune 27,2014.
- ^The Book of Lists 3.Corgi. 1984. p. 425.ISBN0552123714.From "Gone with the wind, sort of: ashes of 19 famous people – and 1 dog."
- ^"Darren Waller".RamblinWreck.com.CBS. Archived fromthe originalon June 21, 2018.RetrievedOctober 30,2015.
- ^Schacter, James D.Piano Man: The Story of Ralph Sutton,Chicago, IL: Jaynar Press, p. 12.
- ^Uhl, Jim. "For Conrad Janis, Acting and Jazz Share the Spotlight,"The Mississippi Rag,pp. 1–9, Sept. 2002, Minneapolis, MN.
- ^"Thin Lizzy - Renegade Album Reviews, Songs & More".AllMusic.RetrievedJanuary 4,2024.
- ^"Grammy Hall Of Fame".Grammy.org. Archived fromthe originalon January 22, 2011.RetrievedJune 27,2014.
- ^"Workshop Poems – The Belfast Group".Beck.library.emory.edu.RetrievedJune 27,2014.
- ^"FAQs | This Old House TV".This Old House. Archived fromthe originalon March 29, 2014.RetrievedJune 27,2014.
- ^"David Lynch's Eraserhead Soundtrack".DavidLynch.de.RetrievedJune 27,2014.
- ^Bradshaw, Peter (February 22, 2008)."Be Kind Rewind".Theguardian.com.
- ^"Travel Channel Schedule".Travelchannel.com.RetrievedJuly 31,2018.
- ^"The Shy Boy",Destination Freedom
- ^"Fats Waller - Ain't Misbehavin' (Audio)".September 17, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 4,2024– viaYouTube.
- ^ab"Fats Waller".Redhotjazz.com.Archived fromthe originalon July 21, 2019.RetrievedMay 23,2020.
- ^"Honeysuckle Rose"sung by Fats Waller in a 1941 Minoco Production Soundie
Further reading
[edit]- Machlin, Paul S., ed. (2001).Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller: Performances in Transcription, 1927–1943.Music of the United States of America (MUSA), vol. 10. Madison, Wisconsin: A-R Editions.
- Taylor, Stephen (2006).Fats Waller on the Air: The Radio Broadcasts & Discography.Lanham: Scarecrow Press.ISBN0810856565.
External links
[edit]- Fats Waller piano rollography
- Red Hot Jazz,a selection of Fats Waller's Recordings
- Fats Waller ForeverArchivedJanuary 23, 2013, at theWayback Machine,a digital exhibit of Fats Waller's musical career
- Fats WallerArchivedSeptember 1, 2013, at theWayback Machineat Music of the United States of America (MUSA)
- Fats Waller memorabilia
- AllMusic
- Fats Waller recordingsat theDiscography of American Historical Recordings.
- 1904 births
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- Swing pianists
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