W.C. HANDY Biography - Musicians

 
 

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W.C. HANDY

Name: William Christopher Handy                                                     
Also known as The Father of Blues                                                   
Born: 16 November 1873 Florence, Alabama, U.S.                                     
Died: 28 March 1958 New York City, New York, U.S.                                   
                                                                                   
William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 - March 28, 1958) was a blues         
composer and musician, often known as the "Father of the Blues".                   
                                                                                   
Handy remains among the most influential of American songwriters. Though he was     
one of many musicians who played the style of music that is distinctively           
American, he is credited with giving it its contemporary form not only because     
he was able to notate his music for publication and hence, posterity, but           
because of syncopated rhythms, a style unique to his music.                         
                                                                                   
While Handy was not the first to publish music in the blues form, he took the       
blues from a not very well-known regional music style from the Delta to one of     
the dominant forces in American music.                                             
                                                                                   
Handy was an educated musician who used folk material in his compositions. He       
was scrupulous in documenting the sources of his works, which frequently           
combined stylistic influences from several performers. He loved this folk           
musical form and brought his own transforming touch to it.