Handy speaks openly of his life and times from his minstrel days to his success in New York where he met the movers and shakers of the Harlem Renaissance. He discusses the development of the blues and life in the South at the turn of the century.

W.C. Handy wrote dozens of songs and instrumentals including “St Louis Blues” and “Beale Street Blues.” Colorful and humorous, this book is indispensable for those interested in jazz history. In it, Handy discusses his challenges and his successes, and he provides plenty of commentary on how he created his blues compositions, many of which have become jazz standards. There is an index of names but no index of songs.

Arna Bontemps was an educator, poet, and author of biographies, children’s fiction, black history, and the book God Sends Sunday. He also compiled literary anthologies with Langston Hughes and Jack Conroy and developed the archive of African American cultural materials for Fisk University where he was librarian.