On September 28, 1912, the publication of...
William Christopher Handy's "Memphis Blues" changed the course of American popular song. Handy introduced an African-American folk tradition, the blues, into mainstream music. By the 1960s, the blues sound had significantly influenced the development of jazz and rock and roll, quintessential American musical forms. Born in Alabama in 1873, W.C. Handy attended Teachers Agricultural and Mechanical College in Huntsville. After a short stint teaching school, he began playing cornet with dance bands traveling the Mississippi Delta. Handy transcribed and collected blues songs he heard on the road in the 1890s, but continued to play the ragtime dance tunes audiences demanded.
By 1909, Handy had settled in Memphis, Tennessee, a Delta city with a cosmopolitan population and a limitless appetite for music. In Memphis, even mayoral races warranted musical accompaniment. As one of the top bandleaders in town, Handy was hired by aspiring mayor E.H. Crump.
To attract attention to his candidate, Handy wrote an original tune entitled "Mister Crump." In "Mister Crump," Handy merged the blues sound with popular ragtime style by slightly flattening the third tone of the scale. Overwhelmingly popular, the song contributed to electoral success for Crump and musical success for Handy.
On Saturday, September 28, 1912, Handy's "Mister Crump," retitled "Memphis Blues," went on sale at Bry's Department Store in Memphis. Although the first thousand copies sold out in three days, Handy was told the song flopped. When the publisher offered to buy the rights for just fifty dollars, the composer agreed.
Swindled out of his first big hit, Handy went on to produce "St. Louis Blues" in 1914, "Beale St. Blues" in 1916, and other popular works. By the time of his death in 1958, W. C. Handy was recognized across the world as the "Father of the Blues."
| Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920 |
- Search the collection Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920 on Handy to browse early published sheet music of Handy's tunes. Search the collection on blues to view sheet music inspired by the "Father of the Blues." Search on the term Scott Joplin to see music by the great ragtime composer.
- Search the collection The John And Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip on the terms blues and field holler to hear the type of tunes that inspired Handy, sung by rural Southerners.
- Visit the newly-available LC/Ameritech award-winning collection, African-American Sheet Music, 1850-1920 from Brown University Library. Search on keywords such as Handy, blues, ragtime, rag or cake walk to view more musical works in this tradition, including some of Handy's own.
In viewing this collection, please keep in mind that the Library of Congress presents these documents as part of the record of the past. These primary historical documents reflect the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of different times. The Library of Congress and Brown University do not endorse the views expressed in these collections, which may contain materials offensive to some readers.
- Visit the collection Photographs from the Golden Age of Jazz to see photographs of the musicians who elaborated on Handy's musical tradition during the 1930s.
- View photographs of the city Handy immortalized in song. Search on Memphis in the collections:
- In the 1910s and 1920s, songs like "Memphis Blues" and "Beale Street Blues" were considered ragtime dance tunes. Learn about how the emergence of ragtime music changed popular dance. Search on ragtime in the American Memory collection An American Ballroom Companion. Five dance manuals in this collection were published in 1914, including Modern dancing by the famous exhibition ballroom dancers, Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Castle.
- One of the first dances developed for ragtime, the Cake Walk, was filmed by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company in 1903. It is just one of 61 short films available in Variety Stage Motion Pictures, part of the American Variety Stage, 1870-1920 collection.
