Solid!

Born

• December 16, 1895
• Washington, DC

Died

• February 3, 1973
• Los Angeles, CA

Real Name

• Andreamenentania Paul Razafinkeriefo

Andy Razaf

• BIOGRAPHY
• COMPOSITIONS

Lyricist Andy Razaf was the great-nephew of Madagascar's Queen Ranavalona III. His grandfather, a former slave, had been United States counsel to the African nation in the early 1890s, and Razaf's mother had married the queen's nephew. During this period the island kingdom was the target of French colonial ambitions, and in the ensuing political turmoil Razaf's father was killed and his mother, pregnant, fled the country.

Razaf was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in Harlem. He worked variously as an elevator operator, butler, and custodian while pursuing a career as a songwriter. He also played semi-pro baseball. He finally began to make a name for himself as a tunesmith in the mid-1920s, and he soon became a vital part of the Harlem scene. In the late 1920s he teamed with pianist Fats Waller. Together the duo composed some of the most memorable songs of the early jazz era, including ''Ain't Misbehavin''' and ''Honeysuckle Rose.''

Razaf's career went downhill in the 1930s. He attempted to enter politics in the early 1940s and failed. Later he moved to the West Coast, where he gradually faded from the public eye. Andy Razaf died from kidney failure in 1973.