Memphis Blues

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

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

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Eric Burdon

Eric BurdonSongwriter Interviews

The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Weird Al Yankovic

Weird Al YankovicFact or Fiction

Did Al play on a Beach Boys record? Did he have beef with George Lucas and Coolio? See if you can spot weird but true stories.

When Rock Belonged To Michelob

When Rock Belonged To MichelobSong Writing

Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism.