Citizendia
Your Ad Here

W. C. Handy
In July 1941, by Carl Van Vechten
In July 1941, by Carl Van Vechten
Background information
Birth name William Christopher Handy
Also known as The Father of Blues
Born November 16, 1873(1873-11-16)
Florence, Alabama, U.S.
Origin Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Died March 28, 1958 (aged 84)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Genre(s) Blues, Jazz
Occupation(s) Composer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, author
Instrument(s) Piano, cornet, trumpet, vocals
Years active 1893 – 1948

William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was a blues composer and musician, often known as the "Father of the Blues". Carl Van Vechten ( June 17, 1880 &ndash December 21, 1964) was an American Writer and Photographer who was a Events 534 - A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published Year 1873 ( MDCCCLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Florence is a city in and the County seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Memphis is a City in the southwest corner of Tennessee, and the County seat of Shelby County. Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other 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 Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a A bandleader is the leader of a band of Musicians The term is most commonly though not exclusively used with a group that plays Popular music as An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers The cornet is a Brass instrument very similar to the Trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape and mellower tone quality Events 534 - A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published Year 1873 ( MDCCCLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 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 A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a

Handy remains among the most influential of American songwriters. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both Though he was one of many musicians who played the style of music that is distinctively American, he is credited with giving it its contemporary form not only because he was able to notate his music for publication and hence, posterity, but because of syncopated rhythms, a style unique to his music. In Music, syncopation includes a variety of Rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced

While Handy was not the first to publish music in the blues form, he took the blues from a not very well-known regional music style from the Mississippi Delta to one of the dominant forces in American music. The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of Blues music. The Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers Technically

Handy was an educated musician who used folk material in his compositions. Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous He was scrupulous in documenting the sources of his works, which frequently combined stylistic influences from several performers. He loved this folk musical form and brought his own transforming touch to it.

Contents

Early life

W.C. Handy at age 19
W. C. Handy at age 19

Handy was born in Florence, Alabama to Charles Bernard Handy and Elizabeth Brewer. Florence is a city in and the County seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. His father was the pastor of a small church in Guntersville, another small town in northeast central Alabama. A pastor is an official person within a Protestant group of people and related to the positions of Priest or Bishop within the Anglican, Roman Catholic Guntersville is a city in Marshall County, Alabama, United States and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. Handy wrote in his 1941 autobiography Father of the Blues, that he was born in the log cabin built by his grandfather William Wise Handy, who became an African Methodist Episcopal minister after emancipation. An autobiography, from the Greek αὐτός autos "self" βίος bios "life" and γράφειν graphein "to write" A log cabin is a small house built from logs It is a fairly simple type of Log house. The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the " AME Church " is a Christian denomination founded by Bishop Richard Allen in Philadelphia In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform clergy functions such as teaching of beliefs The Emancipation Proclamation consists of two executive orders issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. The log cabin of Handy's birth has been saved and preserved in downtown Florence.

Handy was a deeply religious man, whose influences in his musical style were found in the church music he sang and played as a youth, and in the sounds of nature in Florence. Florence is a city in and the County seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state

He cited the sounds of nature, such as "whippoorwills, bats and hoot owls and their outlandish noises," the sounds of Cypress Creek washing on the fringes of the woodland, and "the music of every songbird and all the symphonies of their unpremeditated art" as inspiration. The Whip-poor-will or whippoorwill, Caprimulgus vociferus, is a medium-sized (22-27 cm Nightjar from North and Central

Growing up he apprenticed in carpentry, shoemaking and plastering, and bought his first guitar that he had seen in a local shop window and had secretly saved for by picking berries, nuts and making lye soap, without his parents' permission. A carpenter (builder is a skilled craftsman who performs carpentry - a wide range of Woodworking that includes constructing buildings, Plasterwork refers to Construction or ornamentation done with Plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles His father, dismayed at his actions, asked him, "What possessed you to bring a sinful thing like that into our Christian home?" He then ordered him to "Take it back where it came from," and enrolled him in organ lessons. The organ (from Greek όργανον – organon "organ instrument tool" is a Keyboard instrument of one or more divisions each His days as an organ student were short lived, and he moved on to learn the cornet. The cornet is a Brass instrument very similar to the Trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape and mellower tone quality

Musical and social development

Handy joined a local blues band as a teenager, but he kept this fact a secret from his parents. He purchased a cornet from a fellow bandmember and spent every free minute practising it. An exceptional student in school, he placed near the top of his class. In September of 1892, Handy traveled to Birmingham, Alabama to take a teaching exam, which he passed easily. Birmingham (ˈbɝmɪŋhæm is the largest City in the US state of Alabama and is the County seat of Jefferson County. He obtained a teaching job in Birmingham but soon learned that the teaching profession paid poorly. He quit the position and found work at a pipe works plant in nearby Bessemer.

During his off-time, he organized a small string orchestra and taught musicians how to read notes. He formed a quartet called the "Lauzetta Quartet. " When the group read about the upcoming World's Fair in Chicago, they decided to attend. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The trip to Chicago was long and arduous. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. To pay their way, group members performed at odd jobs along the way. They finally arrived in Chicago only to learn that the World's Fair had been postponed for a year. The group then headed to St. Louis but working conditions there proved to be very bad. The Lauzetta Quartet disbanded and Handy subsequently left St. Louis for Evansville, Indiana. Evansville (ˈɛvənzˌvɪl is the third-largest city in the U

In Evansville, Handy's luck changed dramatically. He joined a successful band which performed throughout the neighboring cities and states. While performing at a barbecue in Henderson, Kentucky, he met Elizabeth Price, and they married shortly afterwards (on July 19, 1896). Henderson is a city in Henderson County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River in the western part of the state The Commonwealth of Kentucky ( is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Events 711 - Muslim forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by their king Roderic. Year 1896 ( MDCCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year

His musical endeavors were varied, and he sang first tenor in a minstrel show, moved from Alabama and worked as a band director, choral director, cornetist and trumpeter. The tenor is the highest male voice within the Modal register, just above the Baritone voice minstrel was a medieval European Bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories about distant places or about real or imaginary historical events A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music. Conducting is the act of directing a Musical performance by way of visible gestures At age 23, he was band master of Mahara's Colored Minstrels.

W.C. Handy, ca. 1900, Director of the Alabama Agriculture & Mechanical College Band
W. C. Handy, ca. 1900, Director of the Alabama Agriculture & Mechanical College Band

As a young man, he played cornet in the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, and in 1902 he travelled throughout Mississippi listening to various musical styles played by ordinary Negroes. The cornet is a Brass instrument very similar to the Trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape and mellower tone quality The World's Columbian Exposition (also called The Chicago World's Fair) a World's Fair, was held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary Year 1893 ( MDCCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States Negro is a term referring to people of Black African ancestry The instruments most often used in many of those songs were the guitar, banjo and to a much lesser extent, the piano. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles The banjo is a Stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers His remarkable memory served him well, and he was able to recall and transcribe the music he heard in his travels. In particular, he noted in his autobiography a blues guitarist he heard in Tutwiler, Mississippi. Little is known about the exact origins of the music we now know as the Blues. Tutwiler is a town in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, United States.

Shortly after his marriage to Elizabeth Price in 1896, he was invited to join a minstrel group called "Mahara's Minstrels. Year 1896 ( MDCCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year " In their three year tour, they travelled to Chicago, throughout Texas and Oklahoma, through Tennessee, Georgia and Florida on to Cuba, and Handy was paid a salary of $6 per week. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la Upon their return from their Cuban engagements, they travelled north through Alabama, and stopped to perform in Huntsville, Alabama. Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. Huntsville is a city in Madison and Limestone Counties in the U Growing weary from life on the road, it was there he and his wife decided to stay with relatives in his nearby hometown of Florence.

On June 29, 1900 in Florence, Elizabeth gave birth to the first (a daughter, Lucille) of their six children. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Around that time, William Hooper Councill, President of Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes in Normal, Alabama (a small community just outside Huntsville) approached Handy about teaching music. William Hooper Councill (1848-1909 was a former slave and the first president of Huntsville Normal School which is today Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, also known as Alabama A&M University or AAMU, is an accredited public historically black university, Normal Alabama is the site of Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University. In Education, a teacher is one who helps Students or pupils often in a School, as well as in a Family, religious or At the time, AAMC and Tuskegee Institute were the only colleges for Negroes in Alabama. Handy accepted Councill's offer and became a faculty member that September. He taught music there from 1900 to 1902 which is today named Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University. Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, also known as Alabama A&M University or AAMU, is an accredited public historically black university,

An important factor in his musical development and in music history, was his enthusiasm for the distinctive style of uniquely American music which was often considered inferior to European classical music. This article is about the academic field of music history. For a chronological overview of music see History of music. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music He was soon disheartened to discover that American music was often cast aside by the college and instead emphasized foreign music considered to be "classical". Handy felt he was underpaid and felt he could make more money touring with a minstrel group and after a dispute with AAMC President Councill, he resigned his teaching position to rejoin the Mahara Minstrels to tour the Midwest and Pacific Northwest. The Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America (the term refers to the land not the ocean In 1903 he was offered the opportunity to direct a black band named the Knights of Pythias, located in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Year 1903 ( MCMIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting Clarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Handy accepted and remained there six years.

In 1903 while waiting for a train in Tutwiler, in the Mississippi Delta, Handy had the following experience. "A lean loose-jointed Negro had commenced plunking a guitar beside me while I slept. . . As he played, he pressed a knife on the strings of the guitar in a manner popularized by Hawaiian guitarists who used steel bars. . . . The singer repeated the line three times, accompanying himself on the guitar with the weirdest music I had ever heard. "[1][2]

Partway through the evening, while playing a dance in Cleveland, Mississippi (circa 1905 [1]) Handy was given a note that asked for “our native music”. After playing an old time Southern melody, Handy was asked if he would object if a local colored band played a few numbers. Three young men with a battered guitar, mandolin, and a worn out bass took the stage. “They struck up one of those over and over strains that seem to have no beginning and certainly no ending at all. The strumming attained a disturbing monotony, but on and on it went, a kind of stuff associated with cane rows and levee camps. Thump-thump-thump went their feet on the floor. It was not really annoying or unpleasant. Perhaps “haunting” is the better word. ” [3]

Transition: popularity, fame and business

In 1909 he and his band moved to Memphis, Tennessee and established their presence on Beale Street. Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Memphis is a City in the southwest corner of Tennessee, and the County seat of Shelby County. Beale Street is a street in downtown Memphis Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street a distance of approximately. The genesis of his "Memphis Blues" was as a campaign tune originally entitled as "Mr. "The Memphis Blues" is a song described by its composer W Crump" which he had written for Edward Crump, a successful Memphis, Tennessee mayoral candidate in 1909 (and future "boss"). Edward Hull "Boss" Crump ( October 2, 1874 &ndash October 16, 1954) was a Memphis Tennessee Insurance broker Memphis is a City in the southwest corner of Tennessee, and the County seat of Shelby County. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting A political machine is an unofficial system of a political organization based on Patronage, the Spoils system, "behind-the-scenes" control and longstanding He later rewrote the tune and changed the name to "Memphis Blues. "

The 1912 publication of his "Memphis Blues" sheet music introduced his style of 12-bar blues to many households and was credited as the inspiration for the invention of the foxtrot dance step by Vernon and Irene Castle, a New York–based dance team. Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting FoxTrot is an American Comic strip written and illustrated by Bill Amend. Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of Ballroom dancers of the early 20th century New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Some consider it to be the first blues song. He sold the rights to the song for US$100, and by 1914, when Handy was aged 40, his musical style was asserted, his popularity increased significantly, and he composed prolifically. Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

W. C. Handy with his 1918 Memphis Orchestra: Handy is center rear, wearing moustache, holding trumpet.
W. C. Handy with his 1918 Memphis Orchestra: Handy is center rear, wearing moustache, holding trumpet.

Handy wrote the following regarding his use of what he heard in folk song. "The primitive southern Negro, as he sang, was sure to bear down on the third and seventh tone of the scale, slurring between major and minor. Whether in the cotton field of the Delta or on the Levee up St. Louis way, it was always the same. Till then, however, I had never heard this slur used by a more sophisticated Negro, or by any white man. I tried to convey this effect. . . by introducing flat thirds and sevenths (now called blue notes) into my song, although it's prevailing key was major. . . , and I carried this device into my melody as well. . . This was a distinct departure, but as it turned out, it touched the spot. "

"The three-line structure I employed in my lyric was suggested by a song I heard Phil Jones sing in Evansville. . . While I took the three-line stanza as a model for my lyric, I found its repetition too monotonous. . . Consequently I adopted the style of making a statement, repeating the statement in the second line, and then telling in the third line why the statement was made. ". [4]<

Handy detailed the sources for his creations in his autobiography, as detailed above. Still, it is now impossible to tell just how much Handy himself wrote, and how much originated with the itinerant singers that he heard. [2]

Because of the difficulty of getting his works published, he published many of his own works, and in 1917, he and his business moved to New York City. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The City of New York By the end of that year, his most successful songs, "Memphis Blues", "Beale Street Blues", and "St. Louis Blues," had been published. " St Louis Blues " is an American popular Song composed by William Christopher Handy in the Blues style The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, a white New Orleans jazz ensemble, had recorded the very first jazz record that year, introducing jazz music to a wide segment of the American public. Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB was a New Orleans band that made the first Jazz recording in 1917 New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Handy initially had little fondness for this new "jazz" music, but jazz bands dove into the repertoire of W. C. Handy compositions with enthusiasm, making many of them jazz standards. A jazz standard is a Jazz tune that is held in continuing esteem and which is widely known performed and recorded among jazz musicians as part of the jazz musical repertoire

Handy's foray into publishing was noteworthy for several reasons. Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Not only were his works groundbreaking because of his ethnicity, but he was among the first blacks who were successful because of it. The rejection of his manuscripts for publication led him to self-publish his works. In 1912, Handy met Harry H. Pace at the Solvent Savings Bank in Memphis. Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting ' Harry Herbert Pace (January 6 1884 in Covington Georgia to 1943 in Chicago Illinois) was an African-American music publisher and Insurance Pace was valedictorian of his graduating class at Atlanta University and student of W. E. B. DuBois. Valedictorian is an academic title typically conferred upon the highest ranked student among those being graduated from an educational institution Clark Atlanta University (CAU is a private, historically black university in Atlanta, Georgia. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (duːˈbɔɪz ( February 23, 1868 August 27, 1963) was an American Civil rights activist By the time of their meeting, Pace had already demonstrated a strong understanding of business and earned his business reputation by rebuilding failing businesses. A business (also called firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to Handy liked him, and he later became manager of Pace and Handy Sheet Music.

W.C. Handy Place in Yonkers, NY
W. C. Handy Place in Yonkers, NY

In 1920, frustrated at white publishing companies that would buy their music and lyrics and record them using white artists, Pace amicably dissolved his long-standing partnership with Handy, with whom he also collaborated as lyricist, and resolved to start his own record firm, which he later named Black Swan Records. Yonkers is the fourth largest city in the US State of New York (behind Rochester, Buffalo, and New York City) and the largest city in New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar White People is the second album by Handsome Boy Modeling School. A lyricist is a Writer who specializes in Song Lyrics, usually paid for by a band to write a custom song(s Black Swan Records was a United States Record label in the 1920s it was the first to be owned and operated by and marketed to African Americans For years, scholars thought Handy was a founder of Black Swan Records. However, Handy wrote: "To add to my woes, my partner withdrew from the business. He disagreed with some of my business methods, but no harsh words were involved. He simply chose this time to sever connection with our firm in order that he might organize Pace Phonograph Company, issuing Black Swan Records and making a serious bid for the Negro market. . . . With Pace went a large number of our employees. . . . Still more confusion and anguish grew out of the fact that people did not generally know that I had no stake in the Black Swan Record Company. "

Although Handy's partnership with Pace was dissolved, he continued to operate the publishing company as a family-owned business, and published works of other black composers as well as his own, which included more than 150 sacred compositions and folk song arrangements and about sixty blues compositions. For partnership in cricket terminology see List of cricket terms A partnership is a type of Business entity in which partners SACRED was a Cubesat built by the Student Satellite Program of the University of Arizona. Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous

In the 1920s, he founded the Handy Record Company in New York City. The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada

Bessie Smith's January 14, 1925, Columbia Records recording of "St. Louis Blues" with Louis Armstrong is considered by many to be one of the finest recordings of the 1920s. Bessie Smith (July 9 1892 or April 15 1894&ndash September 26 1937 was an American Blues singer Events 1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes. Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company " St Louis Blues " is an American popular Song composed by William Christopher Handy in the Blues style Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar

W.C. Handy celebrating his 65th birthday at the Cotton Club.
W. C. Handy celebrating his 65th birthday at the Cotton Club.

In 1926 he authored and edited a work entitled Blues: An Anthology—Complete Words and Music of 53 Great Songs, which is probably the first work of its type which attempted to record, analyze and describe the blues as an integral part of the U.S. South and the history of the United States. Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Southern United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South &mdashconstitutes a large distinctive

So successful was Handy's "St. Louis Blues" that in 1929, he and director Kenneth W. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. Adams collaborated on a RCA motion picture project of the same name, which was to be shown before the main attraction. RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986 Handy suggested blues singer Bessie Smith be placed in the starring role, since she had gained widespread popularity with that tune. The picture was shot in June and was shown in movie houses throughout the United States from 1929 to 1932. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1932 ( MCMXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar.

The genre of the blues was a hallmark of American society and culture in the 1920s and 1930s. A genre (ˈʒɑːnrə also /ˈdʒɑːnrə/ from French "kind" or "sort" from Latin: genus (stem gener-) is a loose set So great was its influence, and so much was it recognized as Handy's hallmark, that author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in his novel The Great Gatsby that "All night the saxophones wailed the hopeless comment of the "Beale Street Blues" while a hundred pairs of golden and silver slippers shuffled the shining dust. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24 1896 – December 21 1940 was an American writer of Novels and Short stories, whose works are evocative of the The Great Gatsby is a Novel by the American author F Scott Fitzgerald. At the gray tea hour there were always rooms that throbbed incessantly with this low, sweet fever, while fresh faces drifted here and there like rose petals blown by the sad horns around the floor. "

Later life

W.C. Handy at Harlem Hospital with hundreds of get-well cards & telegrams.
W. C. Handy at Harlem Hospital with hundreds of get-well cards & telegrams.

Following publication of his autobiography, Handy published a subsequent book on African American musicians entitled Unsung Americans Sung, which was published in 1944. An autobiography, from the Greek αὐτός autos "self" βίος bios "life" and γράφειν graphein "to write" African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa He wrote a total of five books:

  1. Blues: An Anthology: Complete Words and Music of 53 Great Songs
  2. Book of Negro Spirituals
  3. Father of the Blues: An Autobiography
  4. Unsung Americans Sing
  5. Negro Authors and Composers of the United States

In this time period, he lived on Strivers' Row in Harlem. The term Strivers' Row refers to three rows of Townhouses in western Harlem, in the New York City borough of Manhattan on West Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African American cultural and business center An accidental fall from a subway platform in 1943 resulted in his blindness. A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Blindness is the condition of lacking Visual perception due to Physiological or Neurological factors Following the death of his first wife, he remarried in 1954 at age 80 to his secretary Irma Louise Logan, who he frequently said had become his eyes. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) A secretary is either an administrative assistant in business office administration, or a certain type of mid- or high-level governmental position such as a

In 1955 he suffered a stroke and became confined to a wheelchair. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain A wheelchair is a wheeled Mobility device in which the user sits Over 800 people attended his 84th birthday party at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel is a famously luxurious hotel in New York

On March 28, 1958, W. Events 37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. C. Handy succumbed to acute bronchial pneumonia and died. Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the Lung. Frequently it is described as lung Parenchyma / alveolar inflammation and abnormal Over 25,000 people attended his funeral in Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church. Abyssinian Baptist Church is among the most famous of the many churches in Harlem, New York City Over 150,000 people gathered in the streets near the church to pay their respects.

He is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York. This article refers to the Woodlawn Cemetery in the New York City borough of The Bronx

Compositions

Handy's songs do not always follow the classic 12-bar pattern, often having 8- or 16-bar bridges between 12-bar verses. An eight bar blues is a typical Blues chord progression taking eight 4/4 bars to the verse

Performances, honors, recognition, miscellany

W.C. Handy, age 75, appearing in Billy Rose's "Violins Over Broadway", is introduced by Cab Calloway.
W. C. Handy, age 75, appearing in Billy Rose's "Violins Over Broadway", is introduced by Cab Calloway.
US Postage Stamp 1969
US Postage Stamp 1969

Awards, festivals and memorials

References

  1. ^ Father of the Blues by William Christopher Handy. 1941 MacMillan page 74
  2. ^ Tutwiler
  3. ^ [America's Musical Life: A History By Richard Crawford 2001 W. W. Norton & Company pages 536, 537 ISBN:0393048101]
  4. ^ Father of the Blues: An Autobiography. by W. C. Handy, edited by Arna Bontemps: foreword by Abbe Niles. Arna Wendell Bontemps ( October 13, 1902 - June 4, 1973) was an American Poet and a noted member of the Harlem Macmillan Company, New York; (1941) pages 142, 143. no ISBN in this first printing

See also

External links

Listen

Scores

Read

The International Music Score Library Project ( IMSLP) is a project for the creation of a virtual library of Public domain music scores, based on the Brown University is a highly esteemed private University located in Providence, Rhode Island and is a member of the Ivy League.
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic