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W.C. Handy: The Life and Times of the Man Who Made the Blues, by David Robertson

W.C. Handy: The Life and Times of the Man Who Made the Blues, by David Robertson


W.C. Handy: The Life and Times of the Man Who Made the Blues, by David Robertson


Free Download W.C. Handy: The Life and Times of the Man Who Made the Blues, by David Robertson

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W.C. Handy: The Life and Times of the Man Who Made the Blues, by David Robertson

From Booklist

At the turn of the twentieth century, W. C. Handy (1873–1958) propelled the blues from regional obscurity, changing it into a vital tradition that fostered much of American popular music that followed. A native Alabaman, Handy moved to Memphis in 1905 after living in St. Louis and becoming a professional musician whose experience included playing in minstrel shows for racially mixed audiences. He became a prolific composer of songs, including “St. Louis Blues” and “Beale Street Blues,” and established Memphis as the blues’ capital and Beale Street as its main street. Handy’s accomplishments as singer, composer, band leader, and musician came together in his endeavors as he became more famous and influential. Rich and atmospheric, Robertson’s portrayal of Handy is also comprehensive and well referenced. It ought to be required reading for devotees of American music, though it might constitute heavy sledding for casual fans. Readers who persist will be rewarded with a rich basic history of the man and his music and the roots of much of the music we hear today. --Mike Tribby

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Review

“[Robertson] casts overdue light on Handy’s essential role in establishing the blues as a popular art . . . A biography of admirable restraint.”–David Hajdu, The New York Times Book Review“A remarkable musical journey . . . An overdue and highly readable account of the man known as the Father of the Blues.”–Mark Rozzo, The Los Angeles Times“Rich and atmospheric . . . It ought to be required reading for devotees of American music.”--Booklist“A fascinating look at not only Handy’s life but the history and business of American music.”–Publishers Weekly“Restores Handy to his rightful place in America’s music pantheon.”–Kirkus Reviews

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Product details

Hardcover: 304 pages

Publisher: Knopf; 1st Edition edition (March 17, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0307266095

ISBN-13: 978-0307266095

Product Dimensions:

5.9 x 1.2 x 9.5 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

3.8 out of 5 stars

4 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#1,359,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

David Robertson's book about W. C. Handy provides good insight into the history of the Handy linage, and the development of not only Mr. Handy the musician, but also the development of early blues (which were different than the blues many associate with the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, etc.). Many good accounts were presented that explained how Handy "discovered" this genre of music, and also how he - as a schooled musician - was able to notate, publish, and distribute the music. Also of interest was the information that described how important copyrights were (and still are!) to song writers and music publishers, Handy's partnership with Harry Pace, and Handy's move to New York City.The biography, to me, presented more information regarding the creative and business practices of Handy than his personal life. I retained some impressions of him as an optimistic person, but few accounts were shared about his family life or emotional experiences he may have had. For example, I expected more telling of how Handy and his family would react to his eye problems and eventual blindness, the loss of his first wife, or how his children fared. With that said, the book is titled ". . . the Man Who Made the Blues," so perhaps the focus was deliberately more about the making of this genre.All in all, Mr. Robertson’s book was well researched, and an enjoyable and informative read. It’s a good companion book to Handy’s autobiography, “The Father of the Blues.”

Unfortunately Robertson is an unreliable source of information. For instance he creatively claims in the main text that Handy heard the song "Hesitation Blues" in 1885. If for some reason you turn to the notes at the back you'll find him admitting that he claimed he heard it in 1885 in the main text because it's "likely" he did, which is a shell game already, but also, it's not likely he did: If you read a good book about the blues such as Peter Muir's _Long Lost Blues_ you'll find it suggested that that song dates to more than 20 years after 1885. Handy was inconsistent enough in his memory about which folk song he first heard where in his travels (travels back when he was still somewhat a self-admitted snob regarding folk music) that we don't need someone adding historical fiction on top of that. This book largely rehashes _Father Of The Blues_, with a resulting main text about 70 pages shorter, leaving out some very good stories. _Father of The Blues_, which Laverne Barber and Arna Bontemps helped Handy assemble, has problems of its own (it's not possible to end up in St. Louis in "'92" because you left Bessemer because of the Panic of '93) but it's much better than this book.

Excellent book, the true story of one of America's legends

In his new biography of the African American composer W.C. Handy (1873 -- 1958), David Robertson tells the story of how Handy discovered the force of the blues. Handy, then living in Clarksdale, Mississippi, described in his autobiography a musical epiphany he had in 1903 or 1904 at the railroad station in Tutwiler:"A lean, loose-jointed Negro had commenced plunking a guitar beside me while I slept. His clothes were rags; his feet peeked out of his shoes. His face had on it some of the sadness of the ages. As he played, he pressed a knife on the strings of a guitar in a manner popularized by Hawaiian guitarists who used steel bars.'Goin where the Southern cross the Dog'. The singer repeated the line three times, accompanying himself on the guitar with the weirdest music I ever heard." (Handy, quoted in Robertson, p. 95)From this time forward, Handy began to integrate the blues he heard into the performances by his band of marches, dances, and ragtimes. Handy ultimately was to describe himself as the "father of the blues." But more broadly, Handy became what he described as "an American composer." Educated and urbane, Handy knew that the classical composer Antonin Dvorak had visited the United States and developed the "Dvorak Manifesto." Dvorak predicted that the national music of the United States would ultimately be based upon spirituals and other music of African Americans. (Robertson, p. 9) Handy set out to prove Dvorak correct.Robertson has written a moving biography of Handy's life and accomplishments, placing his story in the context of the development of both popular and classical American music. Born in a log cabin in Florence, Alabama, Handy's father and grandfather had been ministers. To the chagrin of his father, Handy became acquainted with the legendary black musician Joe Turner. Handy bought a cornet, taught himself to play, and formed the ambition of living a life of music. As young men, Handy and four companions hoboed their way to the Chicago World's Fair only to find it had been postponed for a year. Handy then travelled alone to St Louis where he struggled with poverty and lived the life later immortalized in "St. Louis Blues."For many years, the young Handy led the life of a wanderer. Handy performed in minstrel shows, with their patronizing and stereotyped attitude towards blacks. He married, moved to Clarksdale, and then to Memphis. In both these southern cities, he was a band leader trying to make a living performing for both white and black audiences. The turning point in Handy's life came when he discovered the rural blues at the Tutwiler railroad station where he heard "the sadness of the ages."Handy's reputation rests upon a small number of blues songs he composed from about 1909-1920, including his most famous song "St Louis Blues". Composed in 1914, the song was little-noticed until 1920, but it has been recorded and performed innumerable times since then. With its haunting combination of blues and tango, "St. Louis Blues" has become one of the iconic works of American music. Handy's other compositions include the "Memphis Blues" (Handy foolishly sold the copyright to this work almost literally for a song -- $50), the "Beale StreetBlues", "Yellow Dog Blues" and "Aunt Hagar's Blues". These songs are worthy achievements for any composer.In the 1920s Handy moved to New York where he turned his attention from composition to writing. In 1926, he coauthored, together with the Wall Street Lawyer Jacob Niles and the Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias, a seminal work on the early blues titled, "The Blues: an Anthology." In 1941, Handy wrote his autobiography, "The Father of the Blues" detailing, among other things, the bawdy life on Beale Street, Memphis of his day. Late in the 1930s, Handy became interested in and edited an anthology of Spirituals. Blinded by a subway accident in 1943, Handy lived until 1958, when he died an American legend.Handy has been somewhat slighted in recent years in favor of the Delta Blues musicians such as Charlie Patton and Robert Johnson. But the blues had many roots. Handy knew Patton and rural blues. But Robertson shows that blues was also heavily influenced by ragtime. (The connection will be apparent to anyone who studies ragtime on the piano.) A trained musician, Handy incorporated many strains into his blues. Handy's blues were in their turn incorporated into both American jazz and classical music, particularly George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."Robertson tells the story of Handy's musical, personal, and business life with eclat. He portrays the development of Handy's music through the ministrel shows, band and march music, ragtime, blues, and tin pan alley. He also offers a rare look into the publishing world, as Handy, in spite of his lack of business sense, became a successful African American entrepeneur and music publisher with his friend Harry Pace and then with his brother, Charles Handy.Robertson's study confirms Handy's importance to American music and offers a great deal of insight into the development of the blues. Readers with an interest in the blues and in American music will benefit from this book.Robin Friedman

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