| This study of the music publishing career of W. C. Handy brings together several areas in twentieth century history: the worlds of music copyright and publishing, of blues, Tin Pan Alley, vaudeville and popular culture generally between around 1900 and 1950. Only one historical figure could provide a focal point for this combination of such disparate strands. W. C. Handy (1873--1958) connected all these worlds, using his musical "book learning" to turn "low down" materials from the black rural south into music treasured by the American public. He played an essential role in transforming and transmitting black folklore materials, a cornerstone of American culture, now known and loved throughout the world.;Yet Handy did much more than this. He set a high standard in music publishing as well. The business he founded in Memphis in 1913, then moved to New York in 1918, created a model for many who followed him. Despite tremendous difficulties, including the near-dissolution of his business during a severe crisis, Handy persevered. Gradually, through the black press and the music trade press, then through daily newspapers and magazines, Handy forged his image as the "Father of the Blues." His great 1941 autobiography of that title solidified his claim to fame; his important 1926 collection Blues: An Anthology, co-authored with attorney Abbe Niles, is a landmark in twentieth century music.;There were other black music publishers (just as there were earlier blues songwriters), but Handy alone endured, creating a family-owned enterprise that has withstood nearly nine decades of change in business and culture. It would be, not years, but generations before other African-Americans matched his achievements in this regard. His importance in this area has not been studied until now.;Handy was unique in his greatness as a folklorist both in transmitting African-American folk materials and in weaving a myth around himself. He turned himself into a folk hero, creating an image known and appreciated throughout the world. Remarkably, he blazed a trail in black enterprise as well. It is for this, as much as his undeniable greatness as a musician, that Handy should be remembered. |
