ABSTRACT
Gangsters, flappers, and bootleggers all agreed on one thing: They loved jazz music. It was the latest music craze, and it was totally different than hymns, marching band music, or opera. The rhythm was fast and the music slid up and down the scale like a snake swimming in a river. Fats Waller was one of the most famous jazz pianists during the 1920s. He was born Thomas Wright Waller, but his friends called him Fats. Everybody wanted to hear Fats play the piano. The clubs he played in were always packed and the concerts he gave were sold out. In 1926, Fats had just finished working the night at a speakeasy in Chicago. The jazz music of Fats Waller and his friends lives on today. Two of his most popular songs “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Honeysuckle Rose” were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
