William Christopher Handy
William Christopher Handy
William Christopher Handywas an American blues composer and musician, known as the "Father of the Blues"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth16 November 1873
CountryUnited States of America
add american-musician business harsh partner words
To add to my woes, my partner withdrew from the business. He disagreed with some of my business methods, but no harsh words were involved.
life
Life is something like a trumpet. If you don't put anything in, you won't get anything out.
inspirational life positive
Life is like a trumpet - if you don't put anything into it, you don't get anything out of it.
eye names house
The name of my ailment was longing, and it was not cured till I finally went to the department store and counted out the money in small coins before the dismayed clerk. When I came to the house, I held up the instrument before the eyes of the astonished household.
ears talent bigs
My big ears indicated a talent for music. This thrilled me.
home wind snakes
Where the Tennessee River, like a silver snake, winds her way through the clay hills of Alabama, sits high on these hills, my home town, Florence.
sound revival sinner
The blues - the sound of a sinner on revival day.
sadness guitar knives
A lean, loose-jointed Negro had commenced plunking a guitar beside me while I slept. His clothes were rags; his feet peeped out of his shoes. His face had on it some of the sadness of the ages. As he played, he pressed a knife on the strings of the guitar in a manner popularized by Hawaiian guitarists who used steel bars. The effect was unforgettable.
running water missing
You'll never miss the water 'til the well runs dry.
dream song stories
If my serenade of song and story should serve as a pillow for some composer's head, as yet perhaps unborn, to dream and build on our fond melodies in his tomorrow, I have not labored in vain.
jobs men long-ago
In the South of long ago whenever a new man appeared for work in any of the laborers gangs, he would be asked if he could sing. If he could he got the job. The singing of these working men set the rhythm for the work.
art men appreciate
You've got to appreciate the things that come from the art of the Negro and from the heart of the man farthest down.
song symphony bird
Whenever I heard the song of a bird and the answering call of its mate, I could visualize the notes in scale, all built up within my consciousness as a natural symphony.
play guitar sometimes
Sometimes I feel like nothin,' somethin' throwed away, Somethin' throwed away. And then I get my guitar, play the blues all day.