Memphis Blues by W.C. Handy

Album: W.C. Handy's Memphis Blues Band (1909)

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Songfacts®:

W.C. Handy became known as the Father Of The Blues, and this was the reason why. "The Memphis Blues," or simply "Memphis Blues," was written in 1909 as a campaign song for Edward H. Crump, who served as Mayor of Memphis from 1910 to 1916. The song - which is subtitled "Mr. Crump" - was not published until 1912 (by Handy himself), but started a trend, and made his outfit the top band in that musical city. Although it is impossible to date the first blues song, Handy's was only the third ever to be published.
"Memphis Blues" has been widely recorded both as a vocal and instrumental including by Harry James And His Orchestra, Duke Ellington and Nat King Cole.
Marc Cohn alludes to Handy in his 1991 hit "Walking In Memphis." >>>
Suggestion credit:
Alexander Baron - London, England, for all above

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