Biography handy w.c
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W.C. Handy
Nov. 16, 1873-March 28, 1958
1987 Inductee
Florence native William Christopher Handy – a musician, composer, arranger and publisher who became known as the “Father of the Blues” – grew up in a log cabin built by his grandfather, a former slave who served as a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
As a child, Handy displayed a keen ear for music, cataloging the musical notes of songbirds, the whistles from nearby riverboats and the rolling rhythms of the Tennessee River. He also played organ in his father’s church, Florence’s Greater St. Paul. Although spiritual music was encouraged in the Handy household, music of a secular nature was frowned upon by Handy’s father, who wanted his son to follow family tradition and become a minister.
Despite the lack of encouragement at home, Handy secretly saved enough money to buy a guitar that he saw in a local shop window. When he proudly brought the instrument home, his father made him take it back to the store and
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W. C. Handy
American blues composer and musician (1873–1958)
Musical artist
William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues.[1][2] He was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States.[3] One of many musicians who played the distinctively American blues music, Handy did not create the blues genre but was one of the first to publish music in the blues form, thereby taking the blues from a regional music style (Delta blues) with a limited audience to a new level of popularity.[3]
Handy used elements of folk music in his compositions. He was scrupulous in documenting the sources of his works, which frequently combined stylistic influences from various performers.[2]
Early life
[edit]Handy was born on November 16, 1873, in Florence, Alabama,[4] the son of Elizabeth Brewer and Charles Barnard Han
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W.C. Handy
(1873-1958)
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. Louis Blues," "Memphis Blues" and "Aunt Hagar's Blues" — which would help popularize the struktur and come to be major commercial hits.
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. His father had other ideas, however, and was staunchly opposed to secular musicianship for his son, only agreeing to pay for organ lessons. Nonetheless, Handy held fast to his love and took up the cornet, also enjoy