Fats Waller life and biography

Fats Waller, born Thomas Wright Waller was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer. He was the youngest of four children born to Adaline Locket Waller, wife of the Reverend Edward Martin Waller.


Fats Waller played stride piano and pipe organ, beginning his career making player piano rolls in the 1920s. He accompanied singers on the vaudeville stage (including Bessie Smith) and wrote hit songs such as "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose." Waller's rollicking style and sense of humor made him a popular star, and his output was tremendous. He had a reputation for wild living, and it eventually caught up to him: he developed pneumonia and died on a train near Kansas City at the age of 39.

Waller's last performance was in the 1943 film Stormy Weather.

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