BHS Day 6: W.C. Handy

Hi! Normally I like to do this category during the weekend as a nod to entertainment during the weekend (cheesy I know...sue me) but with the month starting on Saturday, I've had to rework the lineup a bit so every Thursday this month is dedicated to putting a little light on Black pioneers of music and entertainment. I'm starting out with music this week, and highlighting a musician who is completely new to me. I'd heard of him before, but do not listen to the genre he helped popularize and as a result am not very familiar. My grandma was a huge blues fan, so she'd have probably been familiar with the music today's entrant made. I'm excited to learn more about him because of that alone. Per usual, check out today's further reading links. I left a lot of things out and don't do my 'Notables' in chronological order all the time, so take a peek at them to see the bits I left out. Let's get into it! 

(*sidenote: I said the last sentence back on day 1 because I was going to quote the Philip DeFranco 'let's just jump right into it' meme, but I couldn't find a gif I liked of it so I gave up, then figured I'd stick with 'let's get into it' in a more conversational way that still kinda reminds me of the meme. LOL Okay, useless storytime over. If you're new here, this is me. I do this sometimes, tell a story absolutely nobody asked for and absolutely nobody--except for me--is amused by. I'm sorry. I am the "Nobody: Absolutely nobody:  Me: So let me tell you a story..." meme in the flesh. See, I'm doing it again. 😶You can scroll down now, there's nothing left to see here. lol)

Source

Name: William Christopher (W. C.) Handy, 1873-1958

Profession: Composer, songwriter, musician, author

Why is the Spotlight on him today? For his contributions to the music industry, his lasting influence on the blues genre, and for having a hand in leading the genre as a whole to a mainstream audience

Notables:

--Is also credited as being "Father of the Blues"

--Was a teacher at an agricultural college and worked in a pipe plant before deciding to go into music as a career

--Before going professional, taught orchestra to young musicians

--After an attempt to get into the Chicago World's Fair with a quartet he created, was able to get in solo playing the cornet

--Was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1970

--Toured with a Minstrel show for years and later became the bandmaster of Mahara's Colored Minstrels, which he did off and on during his time teaching at the agricultural college

--Was posthumously honored by having his autobiography inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame as a piece of classic blues literature

--Wrote one of his signature songs, "The Memphis Blues," for a Democratic mayoral candidate, but in the process directly inspired the creation of the foxtrot with his 12-bar style; the song was later credited as one of the first blues song ever published

--Made a deal with the Victor company and wrote a song later recorded by Joe Smith called "Yellow Dog Blues," which is still the most successful recording of Handy's music to date

--Was able to have his sheet music published throughout the early part of the century, which was very uncommon for a Black musician to have at the time

--Was not able to get Black female musicians to record his works but published a couple of non-jazz songs by another composer that were later recorded by Mamie Smith

--Also had a hand in publishing what later became classics, namely Al Bernard's "Shake, Rattle and Roll"

--Was posthumously inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2012

--Created a partnership with Harry Pace called Pace and Handy Sheet Music in order to retain ownership rights of his music; at one time the office was alongside others in the Gaiety Theatre building in Times Square

--Was honored with a park in Memphis named after him and a statue of himself inside said park

--Throughout his career, made music that was later recorded in blues, jazz, and folk, which helped mainstream all three genres

--While running Handy Record Company, made a song called "Saint Louis Blues" which was recorded by Bessie Smith and inspired a movie by the same name, which Handy suggested Smith star in due to the success of the song

--Wrote a handful of books throughout his career, all about Black musicians and/or Blues music

--Was the previous namesake of what is now called the Blues Music Award

--Had a movie made about his life called St. Louis Blues, starring Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald, which debuted months after his death

--Posthumously received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 1993

--Is the namesake of a days-long music festival held in Florence, Alabama, his hometown

Further reading links:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Quote of the Day:

"You've got to appreciate the things that come from the art of the Negro and from the heart of the man farthest down."

--W. C. Handy

Today's organization: National Civil Rights Museum

Source

What does the organization provide? Education and inspiration to help keep history in present-day, support for instructors trying to teach their students about the civil rights movement, its leaders and its history, and information about initiatives to keep the community inspired to continue fighting the good fight for civil rights. 

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See you tomorrow!