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W.C. Handy

Music Interviews

Hearing Voices: W.C. Handy

Nearly a century ago, musician W.C. Handy recorded the first blues hit, "Memphis Blues." In the years that followed, he produced dozens of Billboard chart hits that were re-released again and again. Producer Barrett Golding of the Hearing Voices radio project profiles Handy, "the Father of the Blues."

Hearing Voices: W.C. Handy

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'St. Louis Blues'

American singer Bessie Smith, known as the Empress of the Blues, circa 1935. Three Lions/Getty Images hide caption

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The NPR 100

'St. Louis Blues'

Margaret Howze reports on the song's background and its definitive 1925 recording by Bessie Smith.

'St. Louis Blues'

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