Handy, W. C., 1873-1958
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W. C. Handy, also known as William Christopher Handy (born Florence, Alabama, November 16, 1873-died March 25, 1958, New York, New York), known as the "Father of the Blues," is credited with helping popularize blues music. In 1896, he joined W. A. Mahara's Minstrels, as its trumpeter-bandleader and began a theatrical production that featured African American music. In the early 1900s, he started writing his own music with the first published commercial blues song "Memphis Blues," which became a big hit in 1912. With it's success, he formed the Handy Brothers Music Company, which published the hit songs "St. Louis Blues" (1914), "Yellow Dog Blues" (1914) and "Beale Street Blues" (1916). In 1918, he moved his business to New York and scored success with the composition "Aunt Hagar's Blues," continued to promote blues to mainstream audiences and put on the first blues performance in New York City's Carnegie Hall in 1928. Handy continued working steadily through the 1930s, promoting blues and publishing collections of African American music until he became blind by the mid-1940s. He died of pneumonia only months before his life story was played in movie theaters across the country in the film "Father of the Blues," which starred singer Nat King Cole as Handy. At age 80 he married Mrs. Irma Louise Logan, who had been his secretary.
Archival Resources
| Role | Title | Holding Repository | |
|---|---|---|---|
| referencedIn | African American Sheet Music Collection 2002-063, 2002-264., 1879-1940 | Dolph Briscoe Center for American History | |
| referencedIn | African-American related sheet music and sheet music written by African-Americans, 1851-1974 | Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives | |
| referencedIn | American Vaudeville Museum collection, 1845-2007, (bulk 1910-1940) | University of Arizona Libraries, Library Special Collections | |
| referencedIn | Arna Bontemps Papers, 1927-1968 | Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center | |
| referencedIn | Arthur Alfonso Schomburg papers, 1724-1938 (bulk 1904-1938) | New York State Historical Documents Inventory | |
| referencedIn | Arthur Alfonso Schomburg papers, 1724-1938, 1904-1938 | Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Archives Section | |
| referencedIn | Blake, Eubie, 1887-1983. Papers, 1970-1977 | Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, Harvard College Library | |
| creatorOf | Boys, Richard Charles, 1912-. Correspondence, 1949-1954. | University of Michigan | |
| creatorOf | Britton, Allen Perdue. Papers, 1943-1991. | University of Maryland (College Park, Md.). Libraries | |
| referencedIn | Brothers, Cecilia M.,. Cecilia M. Brothers collection, ca. 1867-1990. | Western Michigan University, Dwight B. Waldo Library |
Showing 1 to 10 of 93 entries
Filters:
| Relation | Name |
|---|---|
| associatedWith | American Museum of Vaudeville |
| correspondedWith | Arvey, Verna, 1910-1987 |
| associatedWith | Bankhead, Tallulah, 1902-1968. |
| associatedWith | Blake, Eubie, 1883- |
| associatedWith | Bond, Horace Mann, 1904-1972 |
| associatedWith | Bontemps, Arna, 1902-1973 |
| associatedWith | Boynton, Henry P. |
| associatedWith | Boys, Richard Charles, 1912- |
| associatedWith | Britton, Allen Perdue. |
| correspondedWith | Brothers, Cecilia M., |
Showing 1 to 10 of 74 entries
Person
Birth 1873-11-16
Death 1958-03-28
Americans
English
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Variant Names
Father of the Blues
Handy, W. C. (William Christopher), 1873-1958
Handy, William Christopher, 1873-1958
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Handy, W. C., 1873-1958
| Handy, W. C., 1873-1958 | Title |
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