Rhythms of Revelry: The Fats Waller Story from Prodigy to Jazz Icon
Mar 29, 2024
Harriet
Sip back and indulge in a story where a young boy's passion for music sets him on an unforgettable journey to jazz stardom. As I, Harriet West-Moore, uncork the tale of Fats Waller on More Wine and Music, you'll discover how a son of a Baptist minister charted his own path from church organ prodigy to a jazz piano legend. We're celebrating the rhythms that transformed an era, and the man whose vivacious spirit and boundless talent left an indelible mark on the musical world. So, pour yourself a glass and join me in toasting to the life of this extraordinary artist.
With every note and anecdote, you'll feel the pulse of the Roaring Twenties and the joyous energy that Fats Waller embodied. From his breakout with OK Records to his swinging hits with RCA Victor like "Jitterbug Waltz," "Honeysuckle Rose," and "The Joint is Jumpin'," we're tracing the melodies that made Waller a household name. His infectious charm, wit, and undeniable flair for performance rendered him not just a musician, but an entertainer whose legacy reverberates through jazz to this day. Fill your glass and let's revel in the music and merriment that Fats Waller masterfully orchestrated.
Sip back and indulge in a story where a young boy's passion for music sets him on an unforgettable journey to jazz stardom. As I, Harriet West-Moore, uncork the tale of Fats Waller on More Wine and Music, you'll discover how a son of a Baptist minister charted his own path from church organ prodigy to a jazz piano legend. We're celebrating the rhythms that transformed an era, and the man whose vivacious spirit and boundless talent left an indelible mark on the musical world. So, pour yourself a glass and join me in toasting to the life of this extraordinary artist.
With every note and anecdote, you'll feel the pulse of the Roaring Twenties and the joyous energy that Fats Waller embodied. From his breakout with OK Records to his swinging hits with RCA Victor like "Jitterbug Waltz," "Honeysuckle Rose," and "The Joint is Jumpin'," we're tracing the melodies that made Waller a household name. His infectious charm, wit, and undeniable flair for performance rendered him not just a musician, but an entertainer whose legacy reverberates through jazz to this day. Fill your glass and let's revel in the music and merriment that Fats Waller masterfully orchestrated.
Hey everybody. This is Harriette Westmore with the More Wine and Music podcast, the podcast where I discuss different genre over a glass of wine. Tonight I'm going to be talking about Fats Waller, so stay tuned, hi. How are you? Happy Friday. It is Friday, july 30th 2021. Tomorrow is my son's, my youngest and only son's birthday. He'll be 24 years old, which means I am getting old, getting older.
Speaker 1:
All right, before we get into tonight's episode, I want to do a little bit of housekeeping. Please subscribe to the More Wine and Music podcast website. Also, buy the accessories and the coffee mugs and t-shirts that are online to help support the podcast. Also, if you want to, another way to support is to buymeacoffeecom backslash morewine music. You can do a contribution there. I would really appreciate it. This will help me to keep bringing in good content. Also, help bring in hopefully bring in some guests. So I would appreciate your support. All right, so I'm going to go in tonight for episode number five.
Speaker 1:
I'm going to be talking about Bats Waller. Bats Waller is one of the early jazz artists and he has made a impression on the jazz genre, and I'm sure everybody have. Either are familiar with the song Ain't no Misbehavin', which is one of the songs that he had written and he was also a regular comedian on radio show. But who was he prior to becoming famous? Thomas Wright, aka Fats Waller, was born on May 21st 1906 in New York City. His father, Edward Waller, was a Baptist minister and he had hoped that his son would follow his footsteps and become a minister as well. Thomas was different as far as other musicians because he actually was tutored to learn to read and write music. His mother and he actually came from a musical family. His father wasn't, I'm sorry. His grandfather was actually an accomplished violinist accomplished violinist and his mother, adeline, she, was a vocalist and also was a choir member of the church. So she particularly nourished Thomas's desire to play music. So she made sure that her son got the best lessons that he wanted and in the beginning he played the organ. So he was learned to read and write music and play the organ, but after hearing, for some I don't know how, but after hearing a piece of jazz music, or at least the beats. That was it. That was the bug that he has received. He got the bug. He got the jazz bug and wanted to go a different direction than what his father had hoped for him to go in which he wanted to continue on to play jazz. So at the age of 15, he dropped out of school and he began to play the organ at the Lincoln Center. His mom passed away around or around or either, right before 1920. Who was a big influence on him? He left home and moved in with his tutor, the person who actually helped hone in in playing the organ, who was? He was Russell Brooks, and from there, once he moved in with Mr Brooks, he switched from playing the organ to playing the piano. While living with Russell Brooks he was connected to and met with another two actually great jazz pianists, which was James P Johnson and Willie Smith. Both of them took little Thomas under their wings and kind of mentored him, and that's how he actually advanced his level of playing music.
Speaker 1:
In 1923, thomas made his debut as an artist for OK Records. From there he began to start recording different piano excerpts or different pieces for the QRS company different pieces for the QRS company. By 1926, his career really started to excel and he signed to RCA Victor label and recorded a number of hits such as the Jitterbug Waltz, the Honeysuckle Rose and the Joint is Jumpin'. These are the songs among that made him. That solidify him as a valid songwriter. And as those songs came out he was actually you know, the request was coming in. They really wanted him to come in and do different projects and actually record and write music for different musical projects and shows. So he was actually kept busy.
Speaker 1:
Thomas was at this point because of his notoriety and his large. He had a larger than life personality. He was the life of the party and he was actually a big man. So that's where he got the nickname Fats. So from here on out I'm starting to call I'll call him Fats. Fats was like I said.
Speaker 1:
He would play at different venues, different parties In New York. He would play at venues, different parties in New York he would play at you can see him and other jazz artists would play at these whole old Harlem rent parties that were neighborhood parties that local performers would get together and perform shows to help pay for a neighbor who was maybe financially strapped for paying their rent or whatever or couldn't pay their bills. So the neighborhood would come together and hold these type of little parties to raise money to help their neighbor that's in need, which is something that you know is kind of followed by the wayside now. I mean you can tell there was. It was a very Harlem, was a tight-knit community. Neighbors looked out after each other and if one neighbor was falling on hard times, you know they would get together and do what they can to help that neighbor. And that includes raising money by having these parties. And it kind of reminds me of the episode on Sanford and Son when Fred and Lamont, they were hard up on their bills or something, so they decided to have this what they call a rent party, and so they would charge a dollar at the door and have this all night party. But of course, you know these types of parties also attract, you know, hood gangsters or whatever. But I mean I just I digress, it just reminds me of the Harlem Ramp Parties that kind of remind me of that particular episode.
Speaker 1:
As being a bigger than life type of person, fats was a big drinker. He loved alcohol and of course with alcohol and partying he also loved women and he had his share of female company. So so he enjoyed all that. So he was larger than life. By the late 20s Fast became a New York host of a radio show called the Paramount Parade and a record, I'm sorry a radio roundup show, and this was from 1930 to 1931. And he also became a host of a Cincinnati-based rhythm and blues club show. That was based out of Cincinnati and that was from 1932 to 1934. In 1935, fats appeared in two Hollywood films called Hooray for Love and King of Burlesque.
Speaker 1:
However, as his fame was spreading, he started to become disillusioned and disenchanted because he became known as the comedian. His work was, you know, his shows up until this point was, you know, based on comedy skits and you know corny stuff like that, and he really wanted to be known as a serious artist. I think you know he got played out of that, you know dog and pony show type performance and playing in these clubs, you know, as a comedian and stuff. He wanted a little more than that and so, yeah, he took a trip out of America and went to trip to England in 1938. And it was there he recorded the composition for the London Suite. In 1943, waller returned to Hollywood and he filmed and recorded and composed the music for the movie Stormy Weather, which we all know is from, with Lena Horne. So he wrote the song Stormy Weather for Lena Horne and Bill Robertson Upon returning from New York, returning to New York from Hollywood, he began to write other songs, another song which was called Early to Bed.
Speaker 1:
So he was nonstop from the time he was 15 up until the early forties and throughout his career, you know, he always maintained a heavy schedule. And as always, as we all know, when you are not taking care of yourself and you maintain this ragged you know schedule of playing here, playing there, you know, moving here, moving there. Schedule of playing here, playing there, moving here, moving there your health starts to decline. And the fact that he was a big man, so he wasn't healthy as far as his weight and the lifestyle that he was living by being on the road all the time. So it eventually caught up with him. In late 1944, after returning back to New York from the West Coast, he got sick with bronchitis and eventually that bronchitis settled into pneumonia and that actually took his life. So he died in Kansas City on December 15th, 10 days before Christmas in 1943. So that is the story of Fats Waller.
Speaker 1:
Fats Waller, like I said, fats Waller, was instrumental to the jazz genre because he created a lot of musical pieces for a lot of the shows and he actually was a person that actually knew how to read and write music, compose music. So that was something new, unique about him. So that's Fats Waller. So again, a lot of these early artists, their biography is not long because they just, you know, a lot of their early years are not really known, because it's not really written. They only, you know, go by once they became famous and what they're famous for is the songs that they were famous for, but as far as their earlier life, it's not really known, which is why a lot of these biography people that I talk about, you know it's a short piece, but there you have it Now.
Speaker 1:
Next week I'm going to switch gears and talk about a female. You know, if I'm going to talk about male, you know I'm an equal opportunity. So I've got to talk about a female jazz artist, and this one I'm going to talk about. Her name is Lil Harden Armstrong, and if you recognize the last name, armstrong, yes, she is related. Well, she was related to Louisville Louis Armstrong. She was actually his first, his first wife so, and she made her mark on the jazz team by her own right. So we're going to talk about her. You don't hear about her, I guess, because you know, louie, you know her husband overshadowed, you know, with him. Everybody knows who Louie Armstrong was, but little was known about his first wife and how much she contribute to um as one of the first. She was actually one of the first female jazz instrumentalists, so she made her mark in the jazz music herself. So that's who I'm going to be talking about in episode six next Friday.
Speaker 1:
So thank you for joining us and, once again, please support the podcast. Go on to buymeacoffeecom backslash more wine music and contribute. Give a donation to help keep this podcast going. Give a donation to help keep this podcast going. Again, like I always say, I enjoy history and I enjoy talking about music and how many people, especially African-American people, have made a contribution to American music. So please consider donating. Buymeacoffeecom backslash morewineandmusic or you can go to wwwmorewineandmusicpodcastcom Actually it's morewineandmusiccom and there you can buy t-shirts and coffee mugs and things like that, and that's also what helps support the podcast. So you guys, have a good week. I will talk to you next week. Take care, bye, sounds good.