Fats Waller

Fats Waller was an American jazz pianist, organist, singer and composer, born Thomas Wright Waller in New York City in 1904. A student of stride piano pioneers, he became one of the most influential keyboard players of the swing era, blending virtuosic technique with an irrepressible comic wit that made him a beloved entertainer as well as a serious musician.

Waller wrote or co-wrote a large catalog of popular songs, many for Broadway revues, and his tunes became jazz standards performed by generations of musicians. His playful, often risqué vocal delivery and stride-piano flourishes gave his recordings a distinctive character that set him apart from more restrained bandleaders of his time.

He led his own small combo, Fats Waller and His Rhythm, toured extensively, and appeared in films and on radio, cementing his reputation as both a composer of enduring standards and a pioneering personality of American popular music. He died in 1943 at just 39, but his songs remain staples of the jazz repertoire.