1873-1958
Blues Composer and Bandleader

The Father of the Blues.

W. C. Handy is often called "The Father of the Blues," a title he gave himself. Most music historians believe that the blues — songs with three-line verses of woeful lyrics and a melody marked by repeated use of flatted thirds and sevenths (blue notes) — were being performed by African American folksingers before the turn of the twentieth century. While Handy did not invent the blues, he deserves credit for popularizing the genre, because he was the first musician to publish blues sheet music. He also had good timing: the song that made him famous, "The St. Louis Blues," appeared in 1914, a year in which African American music was in vogue nationwide among whites as well as blacks.

Early Years.

William Christopher Handy was born on 16 November 1873 to former slaves in Florence, Alabama. From childhood he...