If you are a lover of the blues, you may want to partake of the fun-loving, hand-clapping and toe-tapping festival celebrating the music of W. C. Handy in Florence, Alabama. This annual festival which began over twenty years ago, not only presents over 250 musical events throughout northwest Alabama from July 18 - July 26, 2008 but also has a blues parade, a fun run, a car and truck show, movies and a three state bike ride. It is a testament to the musical achievements of W. C. Handy, also known as the Father of the Blues.
William Christopher Handy was born in a log cabin in Florence, Alabama on November 16, 1873 to a Methodist minister who quickly noticed his musical talents. His formal musical training encompassed cornet, piano and organ; his everyday exposure to the folktunes and spirituals of the Mississippi Delta as well as ragtime and minstrel shows led him to a career as a bandleader, arranger, composer and teacher. He synthesized all of these styles into his own compositions and eventually established his own publishing company Pace and Handy Music Co. in Memphis. He published one of his most popular works "St. Louis Blues" in 1914 followed by "Yellow Dog Blues", "Joe Turner Blues", "Beale Street Blues", etc. The unique sound of his band was recognized by the recording industry with albums for Columbia Records in 1917, Paramount in 1922 and Okeh Records in 1923. Some of his notable appearances included a 1932 tour with the Clarence Davis band, a 1933 performance with Joe Laurie's Memory Lane show, a 1936 performance with Billy Butler's orchestra at the Apollo Theater, 1948 Violins over Broadway revue at Billy Roses's Diamond Horseshoe and several guest roles in the 1950's on Edward R. Murrow's Person to Person, the Ed Sullivan Show and the Stars of Tomorrow radio show. Although he suffered vision loss and became partially disabled due to a a harrowing fall in 1943, he continued working until a few months before his death from pneumonia on March 28, 1958. The 1958 movie St Louis Blues starring Nat King Cole partially drew from his life.
Among the awards and honors bestowed upon him were the National Association of Negro Musicians Award, the naming of a Beale Street park in Memphis, a 65th birthday concert, an honorary doctorate from Wilberforce University of Ohio and a Lewisohn Stadium Concert with Louis Armstrong and Leonard Bernstein.