About
Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the stride style were widely influential among musicians. A popular performer in the Jazz Age and swing era, he toured internationally, achieving critical and commercial success in the United States and Europe. His best-known songs, "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose", were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1984 and 1999 respectively.
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Waller was based mainly in New York City, and grew up under the influence of the Harlem Renaissance. He composed hundreds of songs, many of them uncredited, as he would frequently sell the rights to a new composition to get an immediate cash sum. His recording career spanned two decades and produced hundreds of recordings, with his solo output of particular interest to critics. He developed a distinctive performance style, wherein he performed risqué patter, witty asides, and amusing facial expressions while playing a piece. This proved popular on radio, as well as in the nightclubs and theater venues he performed in throughout his career. He was involved in several successful musical theater ventures, and developed an interest in classical music toward the end of his life, hoping to encourage audiences to take jazz as seriously as they did classical performances.
Member of
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Fats Waller and His Rhythm eponymous
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Fats Waller and His Buddies eponymous
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Thomas Waller with Morris's Hot Babies eponymous
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Fats Waller and His Continental Rhythm eponymous
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Fats Waller, His Rhythm & His Orchestra eponymous
Discography
EPs
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Ain’t Misbehaving / Two Sleepy People / Slightly Less Than Wonderful / There’s A Gal In My Life
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This Is So Nice It Must Be Illegal / Martinique / Waller Jive / Hallelujah
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Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child / I Hate Myself / Whoops a Doodle
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"Fats" Waller Favorites
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Rediscovered Fats Waller Solos
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Fats Magic Piano
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Georgia Grind
Singles
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Until the Real Thing Comes Along / Tea for Two
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London Suite 5. Limehouse / London Suite 6. Whitechapel
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Sugar Foot Stomp / Cow Cow Boogie
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London Suite 3. Soho / London Suite 4.Bond Street
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London Suite 1. Piccadilly / London Suite 2. Chelsea
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You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It / Not There Right There
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Piccadilly Party - London Suite
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Laughin' Cryin' Blues / Roumania
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Squeeze Me / Star Dust
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Bouncin’ on a V‐Disc / I Can’t Escape From You
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Solitude / Snag It
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That Ain’t Right / Doll House Boogie
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Blue Eyes / Us on a Bus
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Viper's Drag / Handful of Keys
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Rockin' Chair / Georgia on My Mind
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Alligator Crawl / Clothes-Line Ballet
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Star Dust / Keepin' Out of Mischief Now
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Nagasaki / Ain’t Misbehavin’
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I Ain't Got Nobody / Viper's Drag
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Waitin' at the End of the Road / Sweet Savannah Sue
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Basin Street Blues / African Ripples
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Go Down Moses / Deep River
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Alligator Crawl / Viper's Drag
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When My Baby Smiles at Me
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Tea for Two / Keepin' Out of Mischief Now
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Keeping Out of Mischief Now / Stardust
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I Ain't Got Nobody / Basin Street Blues
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After You’ve Gone (Fox Trot)
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Numb Fumblin' / Smashing Thirds
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I Ain’t Got Nobody
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Rosetta (Fox Trot)
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I Ain't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares for Me) / Sugar
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Clothes-Line Ballet / Viper's Drag
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African Ripples / Alligator Crawl
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Call of the Freaks / Numb Fumblin'
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I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby (And My Baby's Crazy 'Bout Me) / Draggin' My Heart Around
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I’m Crazy ’bout My Baby
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Love Me or Leave Me / I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling
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My Feelin's Are Hurt / Smashing Thirds
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I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling / Ain't Misbehavin'
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St. Louis Blues / After You've Gone
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Handful of Keys / Numb Fumblin'
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Ain't Misbehavin' / Sweet Savannah Sue
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I Ain't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares for Me) / Red Hot Dan
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The Digah's Stomp / Geechee
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Sugar / Hog-Maw Stomp
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Cryin’ for My Used to Be
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I’m Coming Virginia
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If I Could Be With You
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Soothin' Syrup / Loveless Love
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Nobody but My Baby
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The Rusty Pail / Sloppy Water
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Squeeze Me
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18th Street Strut
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St. Louis Blues / Lenox Avenue Blues
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West Indies Blues
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Don’t Try to Take My Man Away
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Jail House Blues
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Do It Mr. So and So
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A New Kind of Man With a New Kind of Love For Me
Compilations
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Essential Classics, Vol. 329: Fats Waller
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All the Hits and More 1922-1943
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The Essential Fats Waller Apple Music
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The Real... Fats Waller
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The Essential Fats Waller Apple Music
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The Fats Waller Collection 1922-43
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75 Original Great Performances Remastered
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Performance: Radio Recordings From 1931 to 1943
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The Panic Is On
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The Complete Recorded Works, Volume 6
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Complete Recorded Works, Volume 5
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Fats Waller - Thru the 30's
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The Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 3 - Rhythm and Romance
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The Essence of Fats Waller
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Complete Recorded Works, Volume 4
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The Complete Recorded Works, Volume 1
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If You Got to Ask, You Ain't Got It!
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Complete Victor Piano Solos
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The Complete Recorded Works, Volume 2: A Handful of Keys
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The Essential Collection
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Quadromania Jazz Edition: Ain't Misbehavin'
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Music Maestro Please
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Handful of Keys
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The Centennial Collection Apple Music
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A Handful of Fats
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Fats Waller
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This Is So Nice, It Must Be Illegal
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Ain't Misbehavin' Apple Music
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The Sheik of Araby
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Jazz Piano 8
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Ain't Misbehavin' Apple Music
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1939 Transcriptions, Volume 2
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Portrait, Volume 1
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Misbehavin’ Badly on V-Disc
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Portrait, Volume 2
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Saga Jazz: Alligator Crawl
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The Best of the War Years
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Hall Of Fame
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Fats Waller at the Piano
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The 1935 Transcriptions
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Vocal Jazz
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Ain't Misbehavin' Apple Music
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Fats Waller Sings! 24 Classic Hits
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Ain’t Misbehavin’
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The Complete Associated Transcription Sessions 1935-1939
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Ain't Misbehavin' Apple Music
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Fine Arabian Stuff Apple Music
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The Very Best of Fats Waller [Collectors' Choice] Apple Music
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The Alternative Takes in Chronological Order, Volume 3 (1938-1941)
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Handful of Keys
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The Alternative Takes In Chronological Order, Volume 1 (1923-1929)
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The Alternative Takes in Chronological Order, Volume 2 (1929-1938)
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The Very Best of Fats Waller Apple Music
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Lounging at The Waldorf ’29 - ’43
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18 Reflective Recordings
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The Chronological Classics: Fats Waller 1941
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The Chronological Classics: Fats Waller 1942-1943
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The Chronological Classics: Fats Waller 1940-1941
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Honeysuckle Rose
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The Chronological Classics: Fats Waller 1939-1940
Links
Collaboration
Teacher
Also known as
T. Waller · Thomas Waller · Thomas Wright Waller · Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller · Thomas ‘Fats’ Waller · Thomas “Fats” Waller · Waller · Waller Fats · ファッツ・ウォーラー
Tags
- american
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- 569fc5bf-bcb6-4bc5-9a00-bd0d258e34f1
- ISNI
- 0000000081333085
- IPI
- 00032445115
- IPI
- 00057111306
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 7 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.