Hello, I’m Reed, a 4th year computer science student.  I live here in Saskatoon. I enjoy video games, movies, art of all kinds as well as music from all genres. I work as an application analyst for Nutrien. Introductions aside, I’ve decided to make my first post as a biography of most popular  and influential early blues musicians, C. W. Handy.

As a child, his father dissuaded him from music, only allowing him to play the organ. This didn’t stop him from pursuing it, and it became a force that engulfed his life. Like many black musicians of the time, Handy got his first taste of performance as a part of a minstrel show production. Though he briefly became a teacher, his passion was always in music[1].

Handy wrote that he discovered what came to be known as the blues in 1903 by watching a black man plunk a guitar strangely.  “As he played, he pressed a knife on the strings of the guitar in a manner popularized by Hawaiian guitarists who used steel bars… The singer repeated the line three times, accompanying himself on the guitar with the weirdest music I had ever heard[2].” Inspired by this, he would use elements of the style while traveling with different bands, eventually settling in the clubs located in Memphis, Tennessee.  Here he would craft his first big hit, “Memphis Blues”, which was published in 1912.

The song sounds upbeat and catchy, with a memorable riff, its no wonder it caught on.  It was also fairly novel, and spread like wildfire due to its distribution of sheet music. Everyone wanted to play this new form of music, and to do that you needed the sheet. However, Handy never saw the financial success he deserved, because he had sold the rights of the song[1]. He received $50 for the sale of it, and watched as it exploded in popularity. This unfortunate experience inspired him to start his own publishing company, which would prove to be one of the best and most important decisions of his career.

Now in charge of his own music, Handy’s next big hit “The St. Louis Blues” was even more successful.

Unlike the first one, this song was less upbeat and cheery sounding, and less predictable. It has more syncopation, and more musical dominance by only one instrument at a time, instead of all of them competing equally. With his new publishing firm now directly in the spotlight, he was able to purchase new artists songs, while continually producing hit songs.

During this time, many songs would come out his publishing firm[3]. Often times, Handy would make his own versions of previously existing songs, recreating them in a blues style. For example, his song “Hesitating Blues” was based off “Hesitation blues”, a blues song credited to three artists which was again based off of an old tune. As well, his song “Loveless Love” was his take on “Careless Love”, another old well known song with many blues variations.

I’ve posted here a piano cover, because its difficult to find mp3 versions of Handy’s songs, outside of his two biggest hits. But it does well to emphasize the point that most of Handy’s songs became well known due to the spread of sheet music, and many people would recreate their own versions. One of the best known versions of the song is played by Louis Armstrong.

These competing styles show that the same song can sound radically different due to instrumentation and tempo. Connected by the same melody, but sonically very different, they paint different pictures. The piano version sounds light-hearted and playful, whereas the Armstrong version sounds laid back and relaxing. His gruff singing also adds a less open interpretation of the meaning being conveyed, as well as generally an important missing element. The addition of vocals allow for more musical expression.

W. C. Handy’s legacy is a very important one, but not without hardships. He was plagued with health scares, and racism and southern prejudice forced him to relocate his business to New York. Due to a fall from a subway platform in the 1940s, he received a skull fracture that caused him to develop blindness. In 1955, he suffered a stroke that left him wheelchair bound, and he died in 1958 from bronchial pneumonia[1].

However, despite the hardships and prejudice, his legacy endures. His achievements lead to him being known as the “Father of Blues”. Handy reached large white audiences with his book “Blues: An Anthology”, and his funeral was attended by 20,000 who filled the church and streets.

Sources:

1. “W.C. Handy.” Biography.com. October 27, 2015. Accessed July 05, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/wc-handy-39700.

2. Banerji, Robin. “WC Handy’s Memphis Blues: The Song of 1912.” BBC News. December 30, 2012. Accessed July 05, 2018. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20769518.

4. Matteson, Richard. “Matteson Art.” Understanding Magritte – Matteson Art. Accessed July 05, 2018. http://www.mattesonart.com/11111111history.aspx.