Fats Waller

Fats Waller (1904-1943) was an outsize man in all respects- five feet eleven inches tall, he weighed 285 pounds. He was the greatest of the Harlem 'stride' pianists, he composed hundreds of songs, he led a band which made over 400 recordings and he wrote several Broadway shows. Waller's gargantuan appetites have been celebrated in anecdotes and earlier biographies. He is seen by jazz historians as a man of immense musical talent which was never fulfilled, in the interests of his career...
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Fats Waller (1904-1943) was an outsize man in all respects- five feet eleven inches tall, he weighed 285 pounds. He was the greatest of the Harlem 'stride' pianists, he composed hundreds of songs, he led a band which made over 400 recordings and he wrote several Broadway shows. Waller's gargantuan appetites have been celebrated in anecdotes and earlier biographies. He is seen by jazz historians as a man of immense musical talent which was never fulfilled, in the interests of his career as a popular and humorous entertainer.

In this fully revised and updated biography of Waller, Alyn Shipton re-examines his career, arguing that his talents as a songwriter, show composer and brilliant recording and broadcasting artist have not been fully appreciated. In a newly written final chapter, there is a comprehensive survey of Waller's recordings as they have been reissued for the CD era.