Fats Waller—”You’re Not The Only Oyster In The Stew” (1934)

In 1934, Thomas ”Fats” Waller and his band members went into the His Master’s Voice studio at the Liederkranzhall at the north side of East 58th street in New York, to record one of his best-sellers, the Burke-Spina song “You’re Not The Only Oyster In The Stew.”

Fats Waller and his Music on September 28, 1934 — Fats Waller piano and vocal; Herman Autry-trumpet; Floyd O’Brien-trombone; Milton ”Mezz” Mezzrow-clarinet and tenor saxophone; Al Casey-guitar; Billy Taylor-bass; and Harry Dial-drums.

Californian Johnny Burke (1906-1964) had joined the Irving Berlin Publishing Company in Chicago in 1926 as a pianist and song salesman. When the office transferred him to New York in 1932 Burke began to write lyrics in combination with New Yorker Harold Spina (1906-1997), who had already written his first song when he was 10 years old.

In 1934, Burke and Spina wrote “You’re Not The Only Oyster In The Stew,” which became a novelty hit for Thomas ”Fats” Waller.

Floyd Levin gave a nice description of Waller’s genius in Jazz Journal of May 1951, saying that “as a general rule, Fats Waller’s music was a happy music and hardly a listener could hear a Waller recording without smiling. What greater tribute could be paid to an artist?”