Fats Waller (1904-1943)
Red Hot Jazz Archive September 17, 2021
Fats Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was the son of a preacher and learned to play the organ in church with his
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Redhotjazz.com was a crown jewel of the early internet. Starting in the mid ’90s it made the offline discographies and biographies of early jazz available to the online public. It also hosted thousands of audio files donated by people who were digitizing their 78 RPM record collections, making many obscure recordings available for the first time. This all started long before Youtube and even before Wikipedia was much more than an idea.
We are duplicating the content of the Red Hot Jazz Archive from a snapshot saved in Archive.org’s Wayback Machine. Keeping with both the original intent and mission of Redhotjazz.org everything will be publicly available outside of our paywall. For ease of use we are improving each entry to meet the norms of the phone friendly modern internet.
The downloadable music files are mostly MP3s but some are in the ancient Real Audio (.ra) format. Rather than opening a new tab so you can stream or download them the Real Audio files will immediately download when you click them. Don’t be frightened. You don’t need Real Audio player to play them but they won’t work on Windows Media Player. We recommend the free and open source VLC player.
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Fats Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was the son of a preacher and learned to play the organ in church with his
Late in 1932 Fats Waller hired Phil Ponce as manager. Ponce promptly negotiated a contract with WLW, a powerful Cincinnati radio station which was heard throughout the Midwest.
Thanks to Owen Miller for his help with this page. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company A Tisket, A Tasket (Feldman / Fitzgerald / Alexander)
There may have been confusion within the original Red Hot Jazz Archive about this group. It seems likely these sides were actually labeled Fats Waller,
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Ain’t Nothing To It 7-1-1941 Hollywood, California RI-Disc Chant Of The Groove 7-1-1941 Hollywood, California Bluebird Come And Get
You don’t hear a lot of records that feature hot pipe organ, but that is exactly what you get on these songs courtesy of Thomas
James P. Johnson was an important transitional figure between ragtime and jazz piano styles. His style became known as Stride. As a boy, Johnson studied
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Carolina Shout (James P. Johnson) 10-1921 New York, New York Arto 9096 Artist Instrument James P. Johnson Piano Unknown
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Can I Get It Now? (Perry Bradford) 6-18-1928 New York, New York Columbia 14247-D Skiddle-De-Scow (Perry Bradford) 6-18-1928 New
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Fare Thee Honey Blues (Perry Bradford) 3-5-1929 New York, New York Columbia 14417-D Put Your Mind Right On It
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company After Tonight New York, New York Vocalion 4768 Chicago Blues (Biese / Altiere / Williams) 6-18-1928 New York, New
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Dear Old Southland (Henry Creamer / J. Turner Layton) 12-5-1921 New York, New York Okeh 4504-A Bandana Days
Born in Joplin, Missouri, James Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was a member of an abolitionist family. He was the great-great-grandson
Bunk Johnson (December 27, 1879 or 1889 – July 7, 1949) confused Jazz historians for years by lying about almost everything, but nevertheless he was
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Days Is Lonesome (Texas Alexander) 4-9-1934 San Antonio, Texas Okeh 8835 Frost Texas Tornado Blues (Texas Alexander) 4-9-1934 San
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Blues In My Mind 4-9-1934 San Antonio, Texas Vocalion 02743 Mistreatin’ Woman (Texas Alexander) 4-9-1934 San Antonio, Texas Vocalion
The Charleston Chasers recording sessions were often a pseudonym for Red Nichols Five Pennies, but the name was used by Columbia for various other outfits including
The Triangle Harmony Boys were an African-American band from Montgomery, Alabama. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Canned Heat Blues (Bridges / McMath) 7-7-1927 Birmingham,
Prior to his stint with the great Jean Goldkette band, slide trombonist Speigle Willcox was with the Al Deisseroth Orchestra in 1920, and then with
Ted Weems was a popular mid-western bandleader who started his band in 1923 while attending the University of Pennsylvania. Around 1925 he moved his band
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Dolly Mine (Luis Russell / Paul Barbarin) 11-17-1926 Chicago, Illinois Okeh 8454-A Plantations Joys (Luis Russell) 11-17-1926 Chicago, Illinois Okeh 8424
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company It’s Tight Like That (Thomas A. Dorsey / Hudson Whittaker) 1-15-1929 New York, New York Okeh 8656 Parlophone R
Lou And His Gingersnaps was a pseudonym for the Luis Rusell Orchestra. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Broadway Rhythm (Joffe) 9-13-1929 New York, New
Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra was one of the most popular bands in Jazz history and one of the driving forces of Swing style that
Luis Russell (August 5, 1902 – December 11, 1963) was a native of Panama, but after winning $3000 in a lottery in 1919, he moved
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company On A Cocoanut Island (R. Alex Anderson) 8-18-1936 Los Angeles, California Decca 914 A DLA 582 A To You,
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company On A Little Bamboo Bridge (Sherman / Fletcher)) 3-24-1937 New York, New York Decca 1216 A 62070-A Hawaiian Hospitality
The Moulin Rouge Cafe was located at 416 South Wabash Ave. in Chicago. Also see: Jimmy Wade and his Dixielanders Thanks to Russ Shor of VJM’s Jazz
Thanks to Bob Palmer for his help with this page. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Down Hearted Blues (Introducing “Chirpin’ The Blues”) (Lovie Austin / Alberta
< Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Chicago Buzz (Jimmy Blythe / Vol Stevens) 8-1926 Chicago, Illinois Paramount 12382-B 2620-3 East Coast Trot (Jimmy Blythe / Vol
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Barrell House Stomp (Lester Melrose) 12-10-1928 Chicago, Illinois Victor V-38023-A 48712-1 Transatlantic Stomp (Junie C. Cobb) 12-10-1928 Chicago, Illinois
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Boot That Thing (Lester Melrose) 2-11-1928 Chicago, Illinois Vocalion 1269 C-2941 Don’t Cry Honey (Junie Cobb / Alex Hill) 2-7-1928 Chicago,
Edgar A. Benson was a ‘cellist’ who became an impresario, managing many bands in Chicago from 1920 to 1930. The Number One orchestra was originally
Roy Bargy and Charley Straight worked at the Imperial Piano Roll Company when these recordings were made. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company O (Oh!) Medley
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Afternoon In Africa (Buster Bailey / Don Frye) 9-17-1937 New York, New York Vocalion v3846 Chained To A Dream (Buster
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Am I Blue from “Walk A Little Faster” (Harry Akst / Grant Clarke) 5-1940 New York, New York Varsity
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Call Of The Delta (Buster Bailey / Irving Mills) 12-28-1934 New York, New York Vocalion 2887-A Decca F-5492 16445-1 Call Of
On the 1925 sessions Hociel Thomas is accompanied by Louis Armstrong’s Jazz Four. Hociel’s aunt was Sippie Wallace whose maiden name was Beulah Thomas. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company
Hociel Thomas (July 10, 1904 – August 22, 1952) was the daughter of pioneering blues and boogie woogie pianist George W. Thomas Jr., and the
Katherine Henderson was born St. Louis, Missouri on June 23, 1909. She got her start in show business as a small child working in minstrel
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Do It, Baby (Clarence Williams / Andy Razaf) 11-1928 Long Island City, N. Y. C. Paramount 12840 QRS R. 7041-A
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Baltimore (matrix E-23235) (Healy / Kahal / McHugh) 4-27-1927 New York City, New York Brunswick 3664 Baltimore (matrix E-23236) (Healy /
Eva Taylor (January 22, 1895 — October 31, 1977) was a talented entertainer and Blues singer and was one of the first African-American singers to
Sara Martin (June 18, 1884 – May 24, 1955) began her career as a vaudeville singer around 1915 in Illinois. In 1922 she was signed
Sara Martin was on tour with W.C. Handy’s Orchestra when these recordings where made in 1923. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Come Home Papa Blues (Billy Smythe)
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Atlanta Blues (W.C.Handy / Dave Elman) 8-1-1923 New York, New York Okeh 8090 Beaucoupe De Jazz 8-7-1923 New York,
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Blue Devil Blues (Earl McDonald / Clifford Hayes) 9-16-1924 New York, New York Okeh 8188-A Blues Please Go Away
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company He’s Never Gonna Throw Me Down (Horace Brooks) 6-1-1924 New York, New York Okeh 8154-A Artist Instrument Ernest Elliot
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Late Last Night Blues 6-14-1926 New York, New York Okeh 8374 Some Sweet Day (Rose / Jackson /
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company A Green Gal Can’t Catch On (Sara Martin / Clarence Williams) 10-11-1923 New York, New York Okeh 8099-B Graveyard Dream Blues
Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893 – October 26, 1952) is best remembered today for her role in the film Gone With The Wind. She won
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Boo Hoo Blues (Laura Bryant / LaMoore) 11-17-1926 Chicago, Illinois Okeh 8434-A I Wish I Had Somebody (Hattie McDaniel)
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Lonely Heart (Hattie McDaniel) 5-7-1927 Chicago, Illinois Okeh unissued Poor Boy Blues (Hattie McDaniel / Richard M. Jones) 5-10-1927 Chicago, Illinois
This early African-American Jazz record was released on the flip side of a Ted Lewis’ record “Somehow Fox-Trot“. George Morrison’s Jazz Orchestra was from Denver, Colorado. The
Harry Yerkes directed this group which featured New Orleans musicians Alcide “Yellow” Nuņez and Tom Brown. The same group of muicians also recorded as Yerke’s Jazarimba Orchestra Thanks to
Yerkes’ Jazarimba Orchestra was an eight piece band that featured George Hamilton Green and his brother Joe Green on marimba and Rudy Wiedoeft on saxophone.
During the l920’s, Ray Miller was a well-known, highly respected bandleader whose orchestra made many recordings for various companies; it was featured on-the-air for most
Ray Miller was the drummer of a sextet that included the legendary New Orleans trombonist Tom Brown from 1920 to 1923; they were known as his Black
Ray Miller’s Black and White Melody Boys were organized in April of 1922. They were quite active in the New York Jazz scene between 1917
Other releases using the Kentucky Serenaders name were a psuedonym for Lanin’s Southern Serenaders.Thanks to Owen Miller for the recordings on this page. Title Recording Date
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company I Wonder Where My Easy Rider’s Riding Now? (Johnny Bayersdorffer / Tom Brown) 3-17-1924 New Orleans, Louisiana Okeh 40133 The
Josèphine Baker recorded these songs with the exiled version of the German vocal group the Comedian Harmonists. The three Jewish members (Erich Collin, Roman Cycowski and
These songs are from Josèphine Baker’s second film “ZouZou”. The film was directed by Marc Allégret in 1934. It was her first talkie and Jean Gabin was
“J’ai Deux Amours” became Josèphine Baker signature song. The Casino de Paris is located at 16, rue de Clichy in Paris.< Title Recording Date Recording Location Company In
Lèon Jacobs and most of his band were from Liegè, Belguim. Jacobs was Baker’s musical director and his bands accompanied Josèphine Baker until the late 1930s. Folies Bergères is
McKenzie’s Candy Kids was a pseudonym for the Mound City Blue Blowers. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Best Black (Red McKenzie) 1925 New York, New York
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Cryin’ Mood Vocal refrain by William Cooley (Andy Razaf / Chick Webb) 4-8-1937 New York, New York Bluebird B-6932-B
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Coal Yard Shuffle (1) (Joe Steele) 6-4-1929 New York, New York Victor V-38066-B Coal Yard Shuffle (2) (Joe Steele) 6-4-1929 New
The Seminole Syncopators were a Jazz band that was lead by pianist Graham W. Jackson and based in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1920s. Graham W.
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None O’ This Jelly-Roll Quintet selected by Hughes Panassié (Spencer Williams / Clarence Williams) 12-19-1938 New
Dewy Jackson’s Peacock Orchestra is one of the few bands on record which actually played on the riverboats which carried Jazz up the Mississippi from
The Syncopatin’ Seven was a later version of The Syncopatin’ Five. They got their start playing dance music in hotels in Florida. Most of the band
The Syncopating Five got their start playing dance music in hotels in Florida. Most of the band members were from Ohio and Indiana and they
The Texas Blue Destroyers, who were only trumpet player Bubber Miley and organist Alvin Ray, pulled some kind of con job back in 1924, and managed to
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Loveless Love (W.C. Handy) 8-15-1934 Chicago, Illinois Decca 154 Polka Dot Rag (Sidney Bechet / James Toliver / Noble Sissle)
Records on the Regal label were released as Leonard Graham and his Jazz Band. On the Medallion label the name Willie Brown and his Sizzling
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