Editing W. C. Handy (section)

=== First hit: "The Memphis Blues" ===
[[File:Memphis-Blues-1913.jpg|right|thumb|259x259px|"[[The Memphis Blues]]" sheet music cover, 1913]]
In 1909 Handy and his band moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where they played in clubs on Beale Street. "[[The Memphis Blues]]" was a campaign song written for [[E.H. Crump|Edward Crump]], the successful Democratic Memphis mayoral candidate in the 1909 election<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/11/16/little-known-black-history-fact-w-c-handy/|title=Little Known Black History Fact: W.C. Handy |date=November 16, 2018 |work=Black America Web|access-date=November 16, 2018}}</ref> and [[machine politics|political boss]]. The other candidates also employed Black musicians for their campaigns.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Johnson|first=Mark A.|date=Summer 2014|title="The best notes make the best votes": W. C. Handy, E. H. Crump, and Black music as politics|journal=Southern Cultures|volume=20|issue=2|pages=52–68|doi=10.1353/scu.2014.0017|s2cid=144909496|via=RILM}}</ref> Handy later rewrote the tune and changed its name from "Mr. Crump" to "Memphis Blues." The 1912 publication of the sheet music of "The Memphis Blues" introduced his style of 12-bar blues; it was credited as the inspiration for the [[Foxtrot (dance)|foxtrot]] by [[Vernon and Irene Castle]], a New York dance team. Handy sold the rights to the song for $100. By 1914, when he was 40, he had established his musical style, his popularity had greatly increased, and he was a prolific composer.

In his autobiography, Handy described how he incorporated elements of black folk music into his musical style. The basic three-chord harmonic structure of blues music and the use of [[Flat (music)|flat]] [[Third (chord)|third]] and [[Seventh (chord)|seventh]] chords in songs played in the [[major key]] all originated in vernacular music created for and by impoverished southern blacks.<ref name="Handy, Father 1941, p. 99" /> Those notes are now referred to in jazz and blues as [[blue note]]s.<ref name="Handy, Father 1941, p. 99">Handy (1941). p. 99.</ref> His customary three-line lyrical structure came from a song he heard Phil Jones perform. Finding the structure too repetitive, he adapted it: "Consequently I adopted the style of making a statement, repeating the statement in the second line, and then telling in the third line why the statement was made."<ref>Handy (1941). pp. 142–143.</ref> He also made sure to leave gaps in the lyrics for the singer to provide improvisational filler, which was common in folk blues.<ref>Handy (1941). p. 120.</ref>

[[File:Victor Military Band-The Memphis Blues.ogg|right|thumb|Handy's first popular success, "Memphis Blues", recorded by Victor Military Band, July 15, 1914]]

Writing about the first time "Saint Louis Blues" was played, in 1914, Handy said,
{{blockquote|The one-step and other dances had been done to the tempo of Memphis Blues.&nbsp;... When St Louis Blues was written the tango was in vogue. I tricked the dancers by arranging a [[tango (dance)|tango]] introduction, breaking abruptly into a low-down blues. My eyes swept the floor anxiously, then suddenly I saw lightning strike. The dancers seemed electrified. Something within them came suddenly to life. An instinct that wanted so much to live, to fling its arms to spread joy, took them by the heels.<ref>Handy (1941). pp. 99–100.</ref>}}

His published musical works were groundbreaking because of his race. In 1912, he met [[Harry Pace]] at the [[Solvent Savings Bank]] in Memphis. Pace was the valedictorian of his graduating class at Atlanta University and a student of [[W. E. B. Du Bois]]. By the time of their meeting, Pace had demonstrated a strong understanding of business. He earned his reputation by saving failing businesses. Handy liked him, and Pace later became the manager of Pace and Handy Sheet Music.

In 1916, American composer [[William Grant Still]], early in his career, worked in Memphis for W.C. Handy's band.<ref name="whayne">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ThTBc-E85agC&pg=PA262 |title=Arkansas Biography: A Collection of Notable Lives |last=Whayne |first=Jeannie M. |date=2000 |publisher=University of Arkansas Press |isbn=978-1-55728-587-4 |pages=262, 276–278 |language=en}}</ref> In 1918, Still joined the United States Navy to serve in World War I. After the war, he went to [[Harlem]], where he continued to work for Handy.<ref name="whayne" />