Note(s)William "Count" Basie was born in 1904 and died in 1984. A noted pianist and representative of the big band swing era, he was a protege and student of Fats Waller and played with Walter Page's Blue Devils and Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra. In 1935, he organized the first of several bands, which played and recorded such hits as One O'Clock Blues (1937) and Taxi War Dance (1939).Count Basie and his band gained international prominence, making many recordings and touring extensively in the U.S. and abroad.