I have a thing for Fats Waller at the moment. A master of stride piano, Waller died in 1943, then 39 years old. Sometimes, I wish I had been alive back in the 20s and 30s to see what life really was like. I read a cool story about Fats online:
"His impressive and talented playing once put him at risk of injury. Waller was kidnapped in Chicago leaving a performance in 1926. Four men bundled him into a car and took him to the Hawthorne Inn, owned by gangster Al Capone. Fats was ordered inside the building, and found a party in full swing. Gun to his back, he was pushed towards a piano, and told to play. A terrified Waller realized he was the "surprise guest" at Al Capone's birthday party, and took comfort that the gangsters didn't intend to kill him. According to rumor, Waller played for three days. When he left the Hawthorne Inn, he was very drunk, extremely tired, and had earned thousands of dollars in cash from Capone and other party-goers as tips."
Now spinning: "All that meat and no potatoes". (Didn't know they had Atkin's Diet back then?)
1 comment:
Åh ännu en Fats Waller älskare! Jag är helt såld.
Favoritlåten är 'the way I feel today'. Lyssna och njut!
Miss Hannah är inte dålig den heller.
Men det vet du säkert redan ;)
Post a Comment