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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 201-225 of 692 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-98196 | 10-in. | 12/4/1935 | Fat and greasy | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-98197 | 10-in. | 12/4/1935 | Functionizin' | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band | leader, composer, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-98198 | 10-in. | 12/4/1935 | I got rhythm | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-98894 | 10-in. | 2/1/1936 | The panic is on | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-98895 | 10-in. | 2/1/1936 | Sugar rose | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer, vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-98896 | 10-in. | 2/1/1936 | Oooh! Look-a-there, ain't she pretty? | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-98897 | 10-in. | 2/1/1936 | Moon rose | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-98898 | 10-in. | 2/1/1936 | West wind | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-98899 | 10-in. | 2/1/1936 | That never-to-be-forgotten night | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-99035 | 10-in. | 2/1/1936 | Sing an old fashioned song (To a young sophisticated lady) | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-99036 | 10-in. | 2/1/1936 | Garbo green | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-101189 | 10-in. | 4/8/1936 | All my life | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-101190 | 10-in. | 4/8/1936 | Christopher Columbus | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-101191 | 10-in. | 4/8/1936 | Cross patch | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-101192 | 10-in. | 4/8/1936 | It's no fun | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-101193 | 10-in. | 4/8/1936 | Cabin in the sky | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-101194 | 10-in. | 4/8/1936 | Us on a bus | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-101667 | 10-in. | 6/5/1936 | It's a sin to tell a lie | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-101668 | 10-in. | 6/5/1936 | The more I know you (The more I love you) | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-101669 | 10-in. | 6/5/1936 | You're not the kind | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-101670 | 10-in. | 6/5/1936 | Why do I lie to myself about you? | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-101671 | 10-in. | 6/5/1936 | Let's sing again | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-101672 | 10-in. | 6/5/1936 | Big Chief De Sota | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-102016 | 10-in. | 6/8/1936 | Black raspberry jam | Fats Waller and his Rhythm ; Fats Waller | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer, vocalist, lyricist, leader, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-102017 | 10-in. | 6/8/1936 | Bach up to me | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, composer, lyricist, leader, instrumentalist, piano |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Waller, Fats," accessed April 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101963.
Waller, Fats. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101963.
"Waller, Fats." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 April 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
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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