"Beale Street Blues"
Sheet music cover
Song by Gilda Gray
Published1917
GenreBlues
Songwriter(s)W.C. Handy

"Beale Street Blues" is a song by American composer and lyricist W.C. Handy. It was named after Beale Street, a center of African-American music in Memphis, Tennessee, and was published in 1917.

Background

The title refers to Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, an entertainment district for the city's African-American population in the early part of the 20th century.[1] Accounts of Handy's inspiration vary: one is that he observed a pianist playing in a cafe on that street;[2] another credits a barber commenting on closing early because no one had been murdered on the street that day.[3]

Composition and lyrics

"Beale Street Blues" "juxtaposes the 12-bar blues form with an 8-bar counter-theme".[1] The song was published in 1917.[1] Difficulty in securing a good publishing deal meant that Handy published it himself.[4]

Early versions

The publication of the song coincided with the beginning of jazz recordings.[1] An early version by Earl Fuller's Famous Jazz Band earned Handy's firm $2,857 in royalties.[1] A version by singer Marion Harris was a top 10 hit in December 1921.[1] More typically, however, in the early years after it was written, jazz musicians played instrumental versions of the song.[1]

Later versions and influence

Jack Teagarden used the song as a vocal showcase in the 1930s and 1940s, and recorded it with several bands in that period.[1] In the big band era, only a few of the well-known bands recorded it; these included Tommy Dorsey and Duke Ellington.[1] Since the 1950s, the song has been associated with trad bands.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Gioia, Ted (2012). Jazz Standards. Oxford University Press. pp. 31–32.
  2. ↑ Aberjhani; West, Sandra L. (2003). Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. Facts on File. p. 136. ISBN 978-1-4381-3017-0.
  3. ↑ Cartwright, Garth (2009). More Miles than Money: Journeys Through American Music. Serpent's Tail. p. 246. ISBN 978-1-84765-298-0.
  4. ↑ Bearden, William (2006). Memphis Blues: Birthplace of a Music Tradition. Arcadia. p. 23. ISBN 0-7385-4237-7.
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