The Memphis Blues

W. C. Handy

Key

F

Time

C

Tempo

♩=96

AO focus

AO3

Form

Multi-strain ragtime + blues hybrid — published 1912 (originally as 'Mr. Crump', a campaign song for Memphis mayor E.H. Crump). Often credited as the first published blues, though scholarship is contested.

Teaching points

• Three strains, each in a different key (F, B♭, F). Last strain is a 12-bar blues section
• Historical: Handy himself called this the work that 'started the blues craze'
• AO3: contested 'first blues' status — discuss the difficulty of historical 'firsts' in oral traditions