I’M SORRY I MADE YOU CRY
FATS WALLER & HIS RHYTHM
SONGWRITER: N. J. CLESI
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: JAZZ & SWING FEVER – VOL. 8
LABEL: SONY MUSIC
GENRE: JAZZ
YEAR: 1939
Thomas
Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15,
1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and
comedic entertainer.
His
innovations in the Harlem stride style laid
the groundwork for modern jazz piano. His best-known compositions, "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle
Rose", were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1984 and 1999. Waller
copyrighted over 400 songs, many of them co-written with his closest
collaborator, Andy Razaf. Razaf described his partner as
"the soul of melody... a man who made the piano sing... both big in body
and in mind... known for his generosity... a bubbling bundle of joy". It
is possible financial circumstances caused him to compose many more popular songs
and sell them to other performers.
Waller
started playing the piano at the age of six, and became a professional organist
at age 15. By the age of 18, he was a recording artist. Waller's first
recordings, "Muscle Shoals Blues" and "Birmingham Blues",
were made in October 1922 for Okeh Records. That
year, he also made his first player piano roll,
"Got to Cool My Doggies Now". Waller's
first published composition, "Squeeze Me",
was published in 1924. He
became one of the most popular performers of his era, touring internationally
and achieving critical and commercial success in the United States and Europe.
He died from pneumonia, aged 39.
Waller
was the seventh child of 11 (five of whom survived childhood) born to Adeline
Locket Waller, a musician, and Reverend Edward Martin Waller, a trucker and
pastor in New York City. He
started playing the piano when he was six and graduated to playing the organ at
his father's church four years later. His mother instructed him in his youth,
and he attended other music lessons, paying for them by working in a grocery
store. Waller
attended DeWitt Clinton High School for one
semester, but left school at 15 to work as an organist at the Lincoln Theater in Harlem,
where he earned $32 a week. Within
12 months he had composed his first rag.
He was the prize pupil and later the friend and colleague of the stride pianist James P.
Johnson. His
mother died on November 10, 1920 from a stroke due to diabetes.
Waller's
first recordings, "Muscle Shoals Blues" and "Birmingham
Blues", were made in October 1922 for Okeh Records. That
year, he also made his first player piano roll,
"Got to Cool My Doggies Now". Waller's
first published composition, "Squeeze Me", was published in 1924.
I'm sorry, dear, so
sorry, dear
I'm sorry I made you cry!
Won't you forget,
won't you forgive?
Don't let us say
goodbye!
One little word, one little smile
One little kiss, won't you
try?
It breaks my heart to hear you sigh
I'm sorry I made you cry!
I'm sorry, dear, so
sorry, dear
I'm sorry I made you cry!
Won't you forget,
won't you forgive?
Don't let us say
goodbye!
One little word, one little smile
One little kiss, won't you
try?
It breaks my heart to hear you sigh
I'm sorry I made you cry!