W.C. Handy and the Blues

I recently received an e-mail from the granddaughter of W.C. Handy.

(That's so cool all by itself, that I'm going to let that sentence stand for a moment.)

It's a small world. Her last name is Hanson (like mine). And she has a daughter-in-law named Karen.

But, the main thing you all should know about is the legacy of W.C. Handy, which lives on in so many ways. The Handy family operates the Handy Brothers Music Company located in Times Square in New York City. The offices are in the CBS Ed Sullivan Theater building, were the David Letterman show is taped. In the lobby, there is a photo of W.C. Handy with Ed Sullivan.

The company manages and sells W.C. Handy sheet music, books, musical arrangements, CDs, and more. Here are some pictures of the offices packed with photos and memorabilia of W.C. Handy. (Note the photos of the W.C. Handy award given by the Blues Foundation. It's sad that the foundation decided to drop the name, in my opinion.)

When I received the e-mail, I began to look around on the web for information about W.C. Handy. Like all blues fans, I was familiar with him and his role in the blues. But I didn't know too many details. I found a fascinating audio documentary about Handy made by Public Radio International. You can listen to it here. It's well worth your time.