Fats Waller and His Rhythm

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Fats Waller and His Rhythm was the name under which the pianist Fats Waller made records with a small group. Thomas Wright Fats Waller was born in New York in 1904, the seventh of eleven children, of whom five survived childhood. His father was a Baptist lay preacher and his mother was a musician. He began piano at the age of six, played the harmonium at his father's open-air services and also learned double bass and violin. He played well by ear. He got the nickname Fats as a boy, because of his weight. He grew up in Harlem, under the influence of the Harlem Renaissance.

Music and breakthrough

Waller was a pianist, organist, composer and singer. He was an innovator of the stride style and became a popular performer in the Jazz Age and the swing era, with tours of the United States and Europe. His best-known songs, Ain't Misbehavin' and Honeysuckle Rose, are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. He wrote hundreds of songs, often without credit, because he sold the rights for ready cash. He played with witty asides and facial expressions, which worked well on the radio and in the clubs. Towards the end of his life he wanted the public to take jazz as seriously as classical music.

Influence

His recordings number hundreds of titles. He combines virtuoso stride piano with humour and showed that serious technique and entertainment do not exclude one another. He died in 1943. Anyone who wants to hear how jazz sounded in the 1930s will find in his records a clear, spirited yardstick.

Listening

In School of Rock

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• Magazine: Rent parties en stride^NL Magazine