"Beale Street Blues" is a 1916 song by American composer and lyricist W.C. Handy. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year William Christopher Handy ( November 16 1873 &ndash March 28 1958) was a Blues Composer and Musician, often The title refers to Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, the main entertainment district for the city's African American population in the early part of the twentieth century, and a place closely associated with the development of the blues. Beale Street is a street in downtown Memphis Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street a distance of approximately. Memphis is a City in the southwest corner of Tennessee, and the County seat of Shelby County. African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression The song was published by the Pace and Handy music company in 1917, but was first popularized for a mass audience when sung on Broadway by Gilda Gray in the 1919 musical revue Schubert's Gaieties. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located Gilda Gray ( October 24, 1901 – December 22, 1959) was a Polish born American actress and dancer who became famous in the US Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical Entertainment that combines Music, dance and sketches.
Like many of Handy's songs, Beale Street Blues is a hybrid of the blues style with the popular ballad style of the day, the opening lyrics following a line pattern typical of Tin Pan Alley songs and the later stanzas giving way to the traditional three-line pattern characteristic of the blues. Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City -centered music publishers and Songwriters who dominated the popular
"Beale Street Blues" has been recorded by dozens of noted artists, from early recordings by Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, and Alberta Hunter, to more modern versions by Nat King Cole, Lena Horne, and Tommy Dorsey. Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter Leon Bix Beiderbecke ( March 10, 1903 &ndash August 6, 1931) was an American Jazz Cornetist and composer as well Alberta Hunter ( April 1 1895 - October 17 1984) was an American Blues Singer, Songwriter, and Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17 1919 &ndash February 15 1965 known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (born June 30, 1917) is an iconic American singer and Actress. Tommy Dorsey ( November 19 1905 &ndash November 26 1956) was an American Jazz Trombonist, Trumpeter The song itself is now in the public domain in the United States, due to expiration of the copyright, though most of the recordings of it are still covered by their own copyrights. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Copyright is a legal concept enacted by Governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship Exclusive rights to control its distribution usually for
Lyrics
- I've seen the lights of gay Broadway,
- Old Market Street down by the Frisco Bay,
- I've strolled the Prado, I've gambled on the Bourse;
- The seven wonders of the world I've seen,
- And many are the places I have been,
- Take my advice, folks, and see Beale Street first!
- You'll see pretty browns in beautiful gowns,
- You'll see tailor-mades and hand-me-downs,
- You'll meet honest men, and pick-pockets skilled,
- You'll find that business never ceases 'til somebody gets killed!
- If Beale Street could talk, if Beale Street could talk,
- Married men would have to take their beds and walk,
- Except one or two who never drink booze,
- And the blind man on the corner singing "Beale Street Blues!"
- I'd rather be there than any place I know,
- I'd rather be there than any place I know,
- It's gonna take a sergeant for to make me go!
- I'm goin' to the river, maybe by and by,
- Yes, I'm goin' to the river, maybe by and by,
- Because the river's wet, and Beale Street's done gone dry
External links
NEH Blues page, with links to on-line recordings of "Beale Street Blues"
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