"The Memphis Blues" is a song described by its composer,

W. C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musici ...

, as a "southern rag". It was self-published by Handy in September 1912 and has been recorded by many artists over the years.

"Mr. Crump"

Subtitled "Mr. Crump", "The Memphis Blues" is said to be based on a campaign song written by Handy for Edward Crump, a mayoral candidate in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. Handy claimed credit for writing "Mr. Crump", but Memphis musicians say it was written by Handy's clarinetist, Paul Wyer. Many musicologists question how much "Mr. Crump" actually shared with "The Memphis Blues", since the words, taken from an old folk song, "Mama Don' 'low", do not match up with the melody of "The Memphis Blues". Many think "Mr. Crump" was probably the same song as "Mr. Crump Don't Like It", later recorded by Frank Stokes of the Beale Street Sheiks (Paramount Race series, September 1927). According to a member of Handy's band, S. L. "Stack" Mangham, the tune copyrighted by Handy in 1912 was based on one heard by Handy at a dance in

Cleveland, Mississippi Cleveland is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,199 as of the 2020 United States Census. Cleveland has a large commercial economy, with numerous restaurants, stores, and services along U.S. 61. Clevelan ...

around 1903, when it was played by a three-piece

string band A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass. While being active countr ...

now known to have been led by Prince McCoy."Mississippi Blues Trail Recognizes Prince McCoy", ''Mississippi.org'', October 19, 2017
Retrieved 21 May 2019

New York

Handy first published the song as an instrumental. He immediately sold it to the music publisher Theron Bennett, who took it to New York to attempt to promote it. Handy later claimed he had been robbed. In any case, Bennett convinced

George "Honey Boy" Evans George Evans (10 March 1870 – 5 March 1915) known as "Honey Boy" Evans was a Welsh-born songwriter, comedian, entertainer, and musician active in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Biography Evans was born in Pontlott ...

to use it for his "Honey Boy"

Minstrels A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in Middle Ages, medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobatics, acrobat, singer or jester, fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to ...

. Bennett hired a professional songwriter, George A. Norton, to write lyrics for it, and Evans had his director, Edward V. Cupero, arrange it for his band. Bennett published it a year later, but still the sheet music did poorly. Bennett's 1913 publication advertises it as "Founded on W.C. Handy's World Wide 'Blue' Note Melody."

Recordings

It was not until Victor Recording Company's house band (Victor Military Band, Victor 17619, July 15, 1914) and Columbia's house band (

Prince's Band Charles Adams Prince (1869 – October 10, 1937) was an American conductor, bandleader, pianist and organist known for conducting the Columbia Orchestra and, later, Prince's Band and Orchestra.''Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound'', p. 860. He ...

, Columbia A-5591, July 24) recorded the song in 1914 that "The Memphis Blues" began to do well. The original begins in the key of E-flat major. In 2019, this version was selected for preservation in the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...

as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

recorded a version in 1942 (released in 1944 as Columbia 36713).

References

Bibliography

*Charters, Samuel B. (1975). ''The Country Blues''. Da Capo Press. . *Cheseborough, Steve (2004). ''Blues Traveling: The Holy Sites of Delta Blues.'' University Press of Mississippi. . *Hamm, Charles (1995). ''Putting Popular Music in its Place''. Cambridge University Press. . *Komara, Edward (2005). ''Encyclopedia of the Blues''. Routledge. . *Tosches, Nick (2002). ''Where Dead Voices Gather''. Back Bay Books. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Memphis Blues, The Rags Blues songs Songs about Memphis, Tennessee Songs with music by W. C. Handy 1910s jazz standards 1912 songs United States National Recording Registry recordings Jazz compositions in E-flat major

"Mr. Crump"

New York

Recordings

See also

References

Bibliography