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WC handy and trumpet

W.C. Handy {format} {format} 8:55 Barrett Golding

W.C. Handy 1912 sheet music for his "Memphis Blues" was the first blues published. Over the next few decades his songs would make the Billboard charts dozens of times. His "St. Louis Blues" alone was a hit for the Mills Brothers, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Guy Lombardo, Rudy Valee, Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, and nine other bands. In 1958, when he died, 150,000 people lined the streets of New York City for his funeral. [transcript]

Broadcast: Feb 15 2005 on NPR Day to Day Subjects: Music, Historical, Blues

Marsked Marvel contest poster: Guess who he is?

Charley Patton, Bluesman {format} {format} 5:04 Barrett Golding

The Blues Man myth is a hard drinkin’, fightin’, lovin’ guitar player; traveling the country as a singer, a preacher, an outlaw, and a teacher. This legend comes close to the reality of one’s man’s life: Charley Patton, born around 1890 in the heart of the delta. (Interviews courtesy: Honky Tonks, Hymns, & the Blues , from NPR, Artemis Media Project, Pacific Vista Productions, and Murray Street, New York). [transcript]

Broadcast: Mar 18 2004 on NPR Day to Day Subjects: Blues, Music, Historical




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