Editing Fats Waller (section)

==Tribute artists==
Waller had many admirers, during and after his heyday. In 1939, while nightclubbing in Harlem, Waller discovered a white stride pianist playing Waller tunes&nbsp;– the young [[Harry "The Hipster" Gibson|Harry Gibson]]. Waller tipped him handsomely and then hired him to be his relief pianist during his own performances.

Waller also had contemporaries in recording studios. Waller recorded for Victor, so [[Decca Records]] hired singer-pianist [[Bob Howard (singer)|Bob Howard]] for recordings aimed at Waller's audience, and [[Columbia Records]] followed suit with [[Putney Dandridge]].

Probably the most talented pianist to keep the music of Waller alive in the years after his death was [[Ralph Sutton]], who focused his career on playing stride piano. Sutton was a great admirer of Waller, saying, "I've never heard a piano man swing any better than Fats – or swing a band better than he could. I never get tired of him. Fats has been with me from the first, and he'll be with me as long as I live."<ref>Schacter, James D. ''Piano Man: The Story of Ralph Sutton'', Chicago, IL: Jaynar Press, p. 12.</ref>

Actor and bandleader [[Conrad Janis]] also did a lot to keep the stride piano music of Waller and [[James P. Johnson]] alive. In 1949, as an 18-year-old, Janis put together a band of aging jazz greats, consisting of James P. Johnson (piano), [[Henry Goodwin (musician)|Henry Goodwin]] (trumpet), [[Edmond Hall]] (clarinet), [[Pops Foster]] (bass), and [[Baby Dodds]] (drums), with Janis on trombone.<ref>Uhl, Jim. "For Conrad Janis, Acting and Jazz Share the Spotlight," ''The Mississippi Rag,'' pp. 1–9, Sept. 2002, Minneapolis, MN.</ref>

A [[Broadway musical]] showcasing Waller tunes entitled ''[[Ain't Misbehavin' (musical)|Ain't Misbehavin']]'' was produced in 1978 and featured Nell Carter, Andre de Shields, Armelia McQueen, Ken Page, and Charlaine Woodard. (The show and [[Nell Carter]] won [[Tony Award]]s.) The show opened at the [[Longacre Theatre]] and ran for more than 1600 performances. It was revived on Broadway in 1988 at the [[Ambassador Theatre (New York City)|Ambassador Theatre]] with the original Broadway Cast. Performed by five African-American actors, the show included such songs as "Honeysuckle Rose," "This Joint Is Jumpin{{'"}}, and "[[Ain't Misbehavin' (song)|Ain't Misbehavin']]."

In 1981, [[Thin Lizzy]] released the album ''[[Renegade (Thin Lizzy album)|Renegade]]'', which contained the song "Fats", co-written by [[Phil Lynott]] and [[Snowy White]] as a tribute to Waller.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/renegade-mw0000097923|title=Thin Lizzy - Renegade Album Reviews, Songs & More|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=January 4, 2024}}</ref>