On December 15, 1943, Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller died aged 39. He was musician (piano, organ, violin), singer, and a comedic entertainer, a pioneer in creating the sound of the modern jazz piano. As composer he copyrighted over 400 songs, some of them with his collaborator Andy Razaf. Waller’s compositions “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’” were inducted into the “Grammy Hall of Fame”, In 1970 he was inducted in the “Songwriters Hall of Fame”, in 1989 into the “Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame”, in 1993 he was posthumously awarded “Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award”, in 2005 he was inducted into the “Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame”, and in 2008 into the “Gennett Records Walk of Fame”.