William Christopher Handy changed the course of popular music. He integrated Negro folk music into the popular style of the period, ragtime. He created a new style of music, the Blues.

Handy was born in a log cabin in Florence, Alabama, the son of former slaves. His father and grandfather were African Methodist Episcopal ministers, and Handy learned early on the sounds of sacred hymns and Negro spirituals.

Handy worked as a school teacher and bandmaster, conducting his own orchestra from 1903 to 1921. He incorporated into his compositions the "blue" sounds and melodies characteristic of Negro folk music. Forced to publish his "St. Louis Blues" himself, he organized a publishing firm, which he directed until late in his life.

by Lindsey Page