Thomas Waller was born in Greenwich Village in 1904 and reared in Harlem. His parents were deeply religious; to his father, jazz was the devil’s music. He studied classical piano and played church organ. He began his professional career as organist at the Lincoln Theatre on 135th Street. In 1920, he met his mentor, the great stride pianist James P. Johnson, and soon became a prized attraction at Harlem rent parties, and one of the most respected musicians in New York. With the success of his songs and the musicals Keep Shufflin’ and Hot Chocolates, and a Victor recording contract, the stage was set for Fats Waller. A man of gargantuan appetites, his overindulgence in food, liquor, and loving is a legend. He never slowed down through all the years of one-night stands, big-time radio, triumphant concert tours of Europe and Hollywood films. He died aboard the Santa Fe Chief near Kansas City in 1943. He raised the art of stride piano to its highest level and was one of the inventors of swing music. He was a prolific composer, a great comedian and a brilliant singer and musician — talents which made him one of the first Black superstars in America. —By Maurice Waller [Son of Fats Waller], Co-author with Anthony Calabrese, of Fats Waller, Schirmer Books, 1977