Blues: An Anthology

by W.C. Handy (Editor)

In 1926, W.C. Handy published An Anthology, a classic collection of great blues songs arranged for piano and voice—the most famous blues collection in history. Among the first black men to write and publish blues music, Handy (1873–1958) did more than anyone else to make blues popular and accepted. The composer of "Memphis Blues," "St. Louis Blues," and "Beale Street Blues," Handy became widely recognized as "The Father of Blues."Revised in 1949 and 1972, this edition of Handy's anthology incorporates the music to more than fifty songs with Abbe Nile's introductory historical notes that discuss blues as music, as verse, as an influence on jazz and popular song, and W. C. Handy and his place in music history. In addition to Handy's tunes and arrangements such as "East St. Louis," "Juba," "Yellow Dog Blues," and "Aunt Hagar's Children," there are notes for each song, a bibliography, and a chart of guitar chords. The text is supplemented with an outstanding new introduction by William Ferris, and highlighted by a series of striking drawings and lithographs by the renowned Mexican illustrator Miguel Covarrubias (1902–1957).

Genres: Music

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Luke Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from an older man with the intent that I learn about the history of blues music, and I have learned wonders! Although it does contain sheet music, it has so much more. The introduction is an incredible tale of what blues is and how it came to be popular. It talks about the lyrics and what they meant to the people who wrote them.

I love the book's intro, which I talked about, But I also love the annotations that come with each song that was included. Playing through the songs of this book was like an interactive way of reading it. You heard everything that the comment had told you about.

My absolute favorite way to learn about music

[Bookamante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I don't know how to read music scores very well, this anthology is like the bible for the blues. I wish I knew about it when I started playing piano and guitar.

[Vasile · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have book about the history of the Blues with scores and lyrics.

[Daphne Simpkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fan of W. C. Handy I enjoyed this book very much. Handy championed blues and was the first musician to write them down for the rest of us to enjoy. He has assembled a fine collection here, some of them hard to find in other books. I keep it handy.