FATS WALLER

Scarce double-sided Gramophone test pressing (10" 78rpm) of the songs "Breakin' The Ice" (side A) and "Honeysuckle Rose" (side B) by Fats Waller and His Rhythm (1904 - 1943). A British test pressing. Brunswick #24826, November 7, 1934.
BACKGROUND: Born in New York City with the given name Thomas Wright Waller, "Fats" Waller was the son of a churchman. He learned how to play the organ in church with his mother, Adeline Waller, who gave him a background in classical music. Fats' first musical experience was playing harmonium for his father's Abyssinian Baptist Church at 10 years of age. The music which Fats later picked up around Harlem was viewed by his father as "music from the Devil's workshop."