Happy Birthday W.C. Handy November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958 - One of the most important and influential figures of the Century

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William Christopher Handy


HISTORY - WILLIAM CHRISTOPHER HANDY (1873-1958) “FATHER OF THE BLUES”

Composer, musician, music publisher. Born on November 16, 1873, in Florence, Alabama. Sometimes called the “Father of the Blues,” Handy is credited with helping popularize blues music. The son and grandson of ministers, he showed his love of music at an early age. Some reports say that he joined a minstrel show—a theatrical production that featured African American music—at the age of fifteen. Handy later studied at Teachers Agricultural and Mechanical College, in Huntsville, Alabama, around 1892. He became a schoolteacher briefly, but decided to pursue his music career.

In 1896, Handy joined W. A. Mahara’s Minstrels, as its bandleader. He stayed with the group for several years. Handy worked with a few other bands and ended up in Memphis in the early 1900s. He wrote his first song in 1909—a campaign song called “Mr. Crump” for a candidate for mayor of Memphis. The song was later changed and became “Memphis Blues.” He made a deal to get the song published in 1912, making it the first published commercial blues song. “Memphis Blues” became a big hit, but Handy didn’t get to reap the rewards of its success since he had sold the rights to it. To avoid this problem, he published his next successful song, “St. Louis Blues” (1914), using his own company which was later known Handy Brothers Music Company. Other Handy hit songs included Yellow Dog Blues (1914) and “Beale Street Blues” (1916).

In 1918, Handy moved his business to New York and later scored success with the composition “Aunt Hagar’s Blues.” He continued to promote blues to mainstream audiences in the 1920s, editing Blues: An Anthology (1926) and putting together the first blues performance in New York City’s Carnegie Hall in 1928. Handy continued working steadily through the 1930s, publishing collections of African American music.

Handy’s autobiography, Father of the Blues, was published in 1941. Having experienced problems with his eyesight for years, he became blind by the mid-1940s. The legendary blues composer died of pneumonia on March 29, 1958.

Only months after his death, his life story was playing on the silver screen in movie theaters across the country in the film Father of the Blues, which starred singer Nat King Cole as Handy. St Louis Blues Trailer by Nat King Cole with Eartha Kit


His “St. Louis Blues” as recorded by Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong is considered one of the finest songs of the era. Along with his autobiography, Handy wrote five books on the subject of music, blues and African American life in the early 20th century. In 1943, Handy was blinded as a result of a fall from a subway platform.

He passes away at the age of 84 fom pneumonia. An estimated 25,000 people attended his funeral while an additional 125,000 gathered in nearby streets to pay their respects

Today Memphis, Tennessee, is known as the “Home of the Blues.” No one deserves more credit for this than W. C. Handy -- the “Father of the Blues.”

William Christopher Handy was born in Florence, Alabama. His father was a minister who wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. But young W. C. Handy loved music, and in spite of his parents wishes set his sights on a musical career.


But it wasn’t easy. As a young man, Handy played with a minstrel show for a time, then later got a job as band leader at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville.


In 1909, Handy moved to Memphis and began leading bands on Beale Street and writing music there. Two years later he wrote a campaign song, originally called Mr. Crump for “Boss” Ed Crump of Memphis. He later re-released the song under the name Memphis Blues.

With his career launched, Handy went on to write and publish many great blues songs such as Beale Street Blues, Yellow Dog Rag, and St. Louis Blues. In the 1920s and 1930s, a time when blues music was extremely popular, Handy was an international superstar.

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