The history of American music gets pretty confused at points. There wasn’t ever – nor was there intended to be – a sort of delineation of genres. It was surely a marketing construct. I mean what musician would have ever stated, “I play race music.” Utter nonsense, but apparently necessitated by not just the northern recording companies, but folks that weren’t all too sure about black folks comingling with prim and proper whites. Despite all of the ridiculous stipulations added into the music of the early 20^th century, there’s little doubt that some of the bigger names from jazz and blues still have resonance today.

W.C. Handy probably won’t sit along side of Robert Johnson or some other genre giant. But beyond that, Handy might not have really considered there to be a dramatic difference between what music he played and that of Johnson. He’d be right – for the most part. Blues and work songs basically informed the largess of the American song book during the early parts of the previous century. So considering that there were roughly four hundred years of melodic stuff out there floating around it’d be hard to refute the relation of spirituals and the like to ragtime and early jazz works – dance or otherwise.

Growing up in an Alabama home steeped in religiosity proved problematic when a young Handy arrived home one day with an acoustic guitar. His father, a minister, berated the soon to be musician, figuring that the guitar was some devilish construct bent on ruining the immortal soul of his son. Probably that wouldn’t have happened, but instead, Handy was trained first on the organ and then eventually on the cornet, the instrument on which he would make his living.

After a few ill fated attempts at touring the north, Handy kicked around the Midwest trying his hand at performing with local bands and soon finding a modicum of provenance in Indiana. On the strength and popularity of his work with that group, Handy soon found employment in minstrel shows during which time he showcased his vocal talents. And while gigs of that nature no doubt served to enliven the musician’s ability to spend more freely, what Handy wanted was to run a big band. He’d soon get the chance.

While working with a twelve piece orchestra, Handy came upon a guitarist utilizing a knife to play slide – it profoundly effected his compositions. Already being steeped in ragtime, the blues, perhaps its forbearer, wasn’t a departure for the cornetist and band leader.

Today Handy’s compositions sound horrendously dated even when contrasted with some early NOLA jazz efforts. But that doesn’t mean his compositions or place in history should be negatively effected. Much of Handy’s recorded career, though, languished in OOP (out of print) land for decades. It was only during the mid ‘90s that the Memphis Archives released W.C. Handy's Memphis Blues Band. Despite the misleading title, the band works out a number of dance tunes that may even be recognizable from Looney Toons and the like. Again, it’s kinda dated even for the dedicated, but the historical significance of these works can’t be diminished even by that fact.