Historic home of blues artist W.C. Handy returned to family
FLORENCE, Ala. — Carlos Handy said his grandfather had an incredible talent, but would not have reached the level of “Father of the Blues” without reaching deep inside himself and his origins.
“His soul, his natural philosophy, developed here,” Carlos Handy said of W.C. Handy. “We owe a lot to Florence.”
Known as The Father of the Blues, W.C. Handy (born 1873, died 1958) earned that title in 1912 by writing and publishing the first commercially successful blues song, “Memphis Blues,” according to the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.
“In 1914, he made his fame — and fortune — writing and publishing “The St. Louis Blues, which, in the days before hit records, became a million-selling sheet music phenomenon.
Carlos Handy’s wife, Maribel Handy, who is president of the W.C. Handy Foundation, and Florence Mayor Steve Holt recently signed papers handing ownership of the W.C. Handy Birthplace, Museum and Library to the foundation.
The action effectively brings ownership of the historic west Florence home back to the Handy family. W.C. Handy had given it to the city in the 1960s.
The foundation is operated by the Handys, who have numerous documents and memorabilia that they will be able to add to the museum and library, including a Grammy Award won by W.C. Handy.
In addition, they bring an energy and dedication to the facility, and have a variety of ideas for using and promoting it.
“It’s a game-changer, not only for the Handy home but the entire Florence community,” Holt said. “I don’t think it has sunk in to me or to anyone else involved in this what an historic moment this really is. This is like a new beginning. It’s absolutely a new day.”
Carlos Handy wants to increase traffic flow and visibility of the home.
“I want it to become a cultural center,” he said.
The Handys have visited several blues museums and want to create a way to have visual interaction with those museums.
“So you can virtually tour other blues museums across the world when you come here,” Carlos Handy said. “We want to internationalize more the impact of Mr. Handy. We want to include the inspirations that made him who he was. We’ll give it our best shot and see how far we can take it.”
Carlos Handy said his grandfather created music at a time when black musicians were associated only with ragtime and religious music.
“America did not know what black music was all about,” he said. “Handy
changed that. He was fundamentally a writer. He loved to observe and loved to write. He played a big part in the history of American music.”
During the signing ceremony, Maribel Handy said it is important to keep W.C. Handy a part of Florence, and keep Florence a part of W.C. Handy’s legacy.
“Florence has embraced W.C. Handy as its child,” she said.
The ceremony, intentionally done during the W.C. Handy Music Festival, was at the W.C. Handy Recreation Center. It included a surprise unveiling of a mural of Handy on a wall of the center. Local artist Katie Graham painted the mural, which was met with a rousing round of applause from those at the event.
“It was a huge honor,” Graham later said. “I’ve never done anything this daunting before, but it came out well.”