Post by BunnyWhit on Nov 17, 2024 1:18:28 GMT
Happy Birthday, William Christopher "W.C." Handy! (16 November 1873 -- 28 March 1958)
"Life is like a trumpet: if you don't put anything into it, you don't get anything out of it." -- W.C. Handy
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Father of the Blues, W.C. Handy was born in Alabama, the son of a pastor. Handy's father believed musical instruments to be tools of the devil, and he was not pleased when his son came home with a guitar. Though the guitar had to go, his father did pay for Handy to receive organ lessons, which didn't last long. Instead, Handy purchased a coronet, which he hid from his parents, and he began playing with a variety of bands. He held several musical jobs, including teaching at State Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes, which he disliked and left because the pay was so poor.
Handy was a prolific writer of hymns, folk songs, and blues. He traveled the South visiting plantations, and it was the music he heard there from which his blues sound emerged. Handy had his first hit in 1909 with "The Memphis Blues." With "St. Louis Blues" (1914), Handy had one of the first blues hits to crossover to pop, and today the song is a standard in blues and jazz. It is said that Gershwin borrowed Handy's themes from "St. Louis Blues" for "Rhapsody in Blue," and that he gave Handy a signed copy of the score with his acknowledgement and thanks.
The Blues Foundation, founded in 1980, gave its annual award in that same year. Considered the epitome of recognition for blues musicians, the award was called the W.C. Handy Award until the name was changed to the Blues Music Award in 2006. I generally have difficulty remembering to call it the new name, as it was the Handys for so long.
It seems Handy knew everyone, and everyone knew him. Well over 100,000 people were on hand at his funeral.
"Memphis Blues" (1914) -- decidedly ragtime-y
Handy plays "St. Louis Blues" at the age of 75 on the Ed Sullivan Show (1949).
"Life is like a trumpet: if you don't put anything into it, you don't get anything out of it." -- W.C. Handy
Father of the Blues, W.C. Handy was born in Alabama, the son of a pastor. Handy's father believed musical instruments to be tools of the devil, and he was not pleased when his son came home with a guitar. Though the guitar had to go, his father did pay for Handy to receive organ lessons, which didn't last long. Instead, Handy purchased a coronet, which he hid from his parents, and he began playing with a variety of bands. He held several musical jobs, including teaching at State Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes, which he disliked and left because the pay was so poor.
Handy was a prolific writer of hymns, folk songs, and blues. He traveled the South visiting plantations, and it was the music he heard there from which his blues sound emerged. Handy had his first hit in 1909 with "The Memphis Blues." With "St. Louis Blues" (1914), Handy had one of the first blues hits to crossover to pop, and today the song is a standard in blues and jazz. It is said that Gershwin borrowed Handy's themes from "St. Louis Blues" for "Rhapsody in Blue," and that he gave Handy a signed copy of the score with his acknowledgement and thanks.
The Blues Foundation, founded in 1980, gave its annual award in that same year. Considered the epitome of recognition for blues musicians, the award was called the W.C. Handy Award until the name was changed to the Blues Music Award in 2006. I generally have difficulty remembering to call it the new name, as it was the Handys for so long.
It seems Handy knew everyone, and everyone knew him. Well over 100,000 people were on hand at his funeral.
"Memphis Blues" (1914) -- decidedly ragtime-y
Handy plays "St. Louis Blues" at the age of 75 on the Ed Sullivan Show (1949).
