Thomas "Fats" Waller was an influential American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. He was a master of stride piano and wrote over 450 songs. Some of his most popular songs include "Honeysuckle Rose", "Ain't Misbehavin'", and "Squeeze Me". Waller had a prolific career performing and recording from the 1920s through the 1940s. He was renowned for his entertaining personality and sense of humor as well as his musical talents.

1. Thomas Wright Waller “ "I LUV ya, I LUV ya." Darlin', ya know doggone well I LUV ya and if ya break my heart I've GOT to die. So ya better be sure that it's true when you come runnin' up here sayin' "I LUV ya" 'cause it's a sin to tell a lie.” (Lyrics from Waller’s song “It’s a sin to tell a lie”)

2. Radio’s Harmful Little Armful Thomas “Fats” Waller was born in New York City on may 21, 1904. As a child Fats was introduced to music by his mother Adeline Lockett, who was a piano and organ instructor. His father, a Baptist minister named Edward Martin Waller, pressured Fats to take up a career as a clergyman.

3. Musical Background When Fats was 14 years old, his mother died and he moved into the same house as pianist Russell Brooks. While living here Fats met and studied with famous piano player James P Johnson, a composer who was 12 years older than Waller. (http://www.answers.com/topic/fats-waller) Fats later received lessons in classical music from Carl Bohm and the famous pianist Leopold Godowski. After he made his first record at the age of 18, Fats worked on improving his voice by singing backup vocals for various blues singers. Fats also attended Julliard. (http://www.answers.com/topic/fats-waller)

7. Life’s Work Waller is known as one of the most entertaining composers, singers, and pianists in the history of jazz music. He wrote over 450 songs and made over 500 records with other various artists. TCSN.net said of Waller, "The spirited personality of the man was so powerful that he was able to easily transmit it even through the narrow boundaries of a record groove.“ He toured Europe several times, playing everywhere, even on the cathedral organs of Notre Dame. He accompanied Florence Hills and Bessie Smith, both well-known singers. And he collaborated with many other talented musicians, including Alberta Hunter, Sidney Bechet, Jack Teagarden, and Fletcher Henderson. (http://www.answers.com/topic/fats-waller)

8. Lifestyle 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. Nowhere in musical history has there been a closer alliance of man and music than in Fats Waller. He was 5 feet 11 inches and his weight wavered between 280 and 300 pounds. He was a jolly, quick-witted man whose compositions were almost always playful. He was generous to a fault, frequently selling a minor compositional masterpiece for a pittance to a needy friend. (http://www.answers.com/topic/fats-waller)

21. Fats in the 40’s Into the 1940s, Waller's touring schedule of the U.S. escalated. He contributed music to a musical, Early to Bed. The recordings continued to flow, and he continued to eat and drink in extreme proportions. (http://www.sfmuseum.net/sunreporter/fleming6.html) In 1942 he gave a jazz concert in Carnegie Hall that, although receiving bad reviews because Waller seemed a trifle stiff and uncomfortable, was a monumental occasion in the life of the young preacher's son from Harlem. Fats was living the high life and chasing women all the time. (http://www.sfmuseum.net/sunreporter/fleming6.html)

24. Farewell Fats Fats Waller died of bronchial pnemonia on a train while going home to New York from the west coast December 14, 1943. He was 39 years old.