What is WC Handy famous for?
W.C. Handy, in full William Christopher Handy, (born November 16, 1873, Florence, Alabama, U.S.—died March 28, 1958, New York, New York), American composer who changed the course of popular music by integrating the blues idiom into then-fashionable ragtime music. Among his best-known works is the classic “ St. Louis Blues .”
How old was William handy when he died?
At the age of 80, Handy married his longtime personal assistant Irma Louise Logan. After his death on March 28, 1958, Handy was mourned throughout the world; among the most famous of Americans, he was honored by an estimated 150,000 persons at his funeral in New York City.
Where was WC Handy born?
W.C. Handy was born on November 16, 1873, in Florence, Alabama. He played with several bands and traveled throughout the Midwest and the South, learning about the African-American folk music that would become known as the blues.
Is WC Handy in the Blues Hall of Fame?
Blues Music Award was known as the W. C. Handy Award until the name change in 2006. W. C. Handy Music Festival is held annually in Florence, Alabama. In 2017, his autobiography Father of the Blues was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame in the category of Classics of Blues Literature.
Is WC Handy dead?
March 28, 1958W. C. Handy / Date of death
How did WC Handy go blind?
In 1943, he lost his balance and fell from a subway station which caused him to go totally blind. In addition to composing, Handy worked laboriously at compiling blues tunes which he published in a book called Blues: An Anthology in 1926.
Where did WC Handy die?
Sydenham HospitalW. C. Handy / Place of deathSydenham Hospital was a healthcare facility in Harlem, Manhattan, New York, which operated between 1892 and 1980. It was located at 124 Street and Manhattan Avenue. Wikipedia
How old is WC Handy?
84 years (1873–1958)W. C. Handy / Age at death
Who is considered the father of blues and why?
For his efforts in making Blues famous, W.C. Handy is known as the “Father of the Blues.”
What is soul music a blend of?
Soul music has its roots in traditional African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues and as the hybridization of their respective religious and secular styles – in both lyrical content and instrumentation – that began in the 1950s.
Who created the blues?
The blues originated on Southern plantations in the 19th Century. Its inventors were slaves, ex-slaves and the descendants of slaves—African-American sharecroppers who sang as they toiled in the cotton and vegetable fields.
Who recorded the first vocal blues song?
They were about to play a song written by Perry Bradford, and to sing it with them was Mamie Smith. Called “Crazy Blues,” it is the first blues record.
Who made the blues popular?
Bessie Smith and Robert Johnson made the blues style very popular in the 1920s. By the 1940s and 50s, the style had developed further and included a range of other instruments. This style was called rhythm and blues, r'n'b, and was usually played on electric guitar and bass.
Where did WC Handy go to school?
Fisk UniversityW. C. Handy / EducationFisk University is a private historically black university in Nashville, Tennessee. The university was founded in 1866 and its 40-acre campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Wikipedia
What is WC Handy famous for?
Handy, in full William Christopher Handy, (born November 16, 1873, Florence, Alabama, U.S.—died March 28, 1958, New York, New York), American composer who changed the course of popular music by integrating the blues idiom into then-fashionable ragtime music. Among his best-known works is the classic “St. Louis Blues.”
Where did WC Handy live?
FlorenceW. C. Handy / Places livedFlorence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner. It is situated along the Tennessee River and is home to the University of North Alabama, the oldest college in the state. Wikipedia
What impact did Bessie Smith have?
With her subsequent recordings, Smith was one of the artists who propelled the fledgling "race records" market of music targeted to black audiences that had launched a few years earlier in 1920 with Mamie Smith's hit "Crazy Blues." Through the rest of the 1920s, Bessie Smith became one of the earliest stars of recorded ...
Why is William Christopher Handy important?
Handy, in full William Christopher Handy, (born November 16, 1873, Florence, Alabama, U.S.—died March 28, 1958, New York, New York), American composer who changed the course of popular music by integrating the blues idiom into then-fashionable ragtime music. Among his best-known works is the classic “St. Louis Blues.”
Who recorded the first vocal blues song?
They were about to play a song written by Perry Bradford, and to sing it with them was Mamie Smith. Called “Crazy Blues,” it is the first blues record.
Where did WC Handy go to school?
Fisk UniversityW. C. Handy / EducationFisk University is a private historically black university in Nashville, Tennessee. The university was founded in 1866 and its 40-acre campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Wikipedia
Who Was W.C. Handy?
W.C. Handy played with several bands and traveled throughout the Midwest and the South, learning about the African American folk music that would become known as the blues. Handy later composed his own songs — including "St.
Early Life
Composer, musician and music publisher William Christopher Handy was born on November 16, 1873, in Florence, Alabama, to Elizabeth Brewer and Charles Barnard Handy. The son and grandson of Methodist ministers, the young Handy showed his love of music at an early age, and was supported in his pursuits by his maternal grandmother.
Hardships and First Blues Song
Handy's contributions in shaping what would be called the blues were influenced by the African American musical folk traditions that he experienced during his travels and performances.
Adrienne Kennedy
After a sojourn in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where Handy headed up the band the Black Knights of Pyhtias and immersed himself in the local variation of the blues, by the end of the first decade of the 20th century, Handy had settled in Memphis, Tennessee, where he performed frequently at the Beale Street clubs.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1918, Handy moved his business to New York to escape Southern racial hostility, and later scored success with the composition "Aunt Hagar's Blues." He continued to promote blues to large audiences during the 1920s, editing the book Blues: An Anthology (1926) — which contained blues arrangements for vocals and piano — and organizing the first blues performance in New York City's Carnegie Hall in 1928..
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Who were the Handy brothers?
His brother Charles and sister-in-law Ruth worked nights and weekends at the office shipping music and answering mail, and with the help of a few remaining staff members, Handy managed to hold on to his business, reincorporated as Handy Brothers Music Company. By the mid-1920s, his fortunes were improving.
Who was Harry Pace?
In 1907, Handy met Harry Pace, a brilliant young businessman from Covington, Georgia, and they teamed up in 1913 to found the Pace & Handy Music Company in Memphis. Their first publications, some with lyrics by Pace, were mediocre, but in 1914 Handy penned his masterpiece, "St. Louis Blues.".
Who sold the Memphis Blues?
This clever composition caught the attention of publisher Theron Bennett, who convinced Handy to sell him the rights for $100. The following year, Bennett republished "The Memphis Blues" with lyrics, and the song was a hit.
What happened to Handy's grandfather?
His grandfather was shot and wounded in a slave escape attempt, around the time of the Civil War. And they did not desire for Handy to go into, essentially traveling shows, which he ultimately did. …. At about the time he quit doing that, blues was beginning to emerge in the Mississippi Delta primarily. We're now fast forwarding to about 1905, and ...
Who is Elliott Hurwitt?
Here & Now 's Robin Young talks with Elliott Hurwitt, a music historian and program consultant for the New York Festival of Song, to learn more about Handy's life and impact.
