Milt Buckner, the "St. Louis Fireball," is generally credited with having popularized the Hammond organ during the early 1950s. First introduced in 1934, the instrument was immediately seized upon by Thomas "Fats" Waller, whose syncopated pipe organ records of 1926-1929 form the primal bedrock of the jazz organ tradition. Although the Hammond was also used periodically by Waller's friend Count Basie, Buckner rekindled interest in the organ some seven years after Waller's demise as his exuberant, boogie-based approach to the instrument added exciting new textures to the burgeoning R&B scene, inspiring a whole new generation of organists and ultimately endearing him to mainstream jazz audiences everywhere. Buckner, who also played vibraphone and valve trombone, enjoyed unprecedented success during the final phase of his career, which consisted of mostly European adventures that began in 1966 and ended abruptly with his death in 1977 at the age of 62.