Blues: An Anthology (Handy, 1926/2001)

Blues: An Anthology (Handy, 1926/2001)

Handy, W. C., Niles, A., and Covarrubias, M. (2001). Blues: An Anthology. Bedford, Mass: Applewood Books.
ISBN 1557095213 9781557095213
aka: Blues : the most famous blues collection.
Edited by W.C. Handy ; with an introduction by Abbe Niles;
Illustrations by Miguel Covarrubias

Review
Purchased just over two weeks before I wrote this review, this book has turned out to be a fascinating journey on a number of levels...
I thought my copy was written or compiled on, or around 2001: because that is the publishing date of the edition I bought. I also thought the 48-page introduction of my book may have been written around 2000: the original manuscript, both the introduction and the collection, was written on, or around, 1926. I thought all the musical scores were going to be by WC Handy: I was surprised to learn they are not (and not all would be considered blues in this day and age).
The book I purchased is not called Blues: An Anthology on the cover; it is known by the alternate title Blues: the most famous blues collection.I learned that there had been a number of editions of this book published: the first edition published in 1926; then 1949, 1978, 1990, 2001, 2012; and possibly more.
And I learned that songs (musical pieces) had been added or removed from later editions, compared to the (1926) first edition (see an edited version of the music scores collated in the edition I bought, below).

So: not everything was as it seemed from my first impression of the book. But that is not a bad thing when online research, and dedicated bloggers, can provide so many answers.
As a fan of music genres (including blues, country and roots music) I am well aware of WC Handy's contribution to the blues genre (that is, he was most likely the first African American to publish blues music scores in the English language that became widely available in the early 20th Century).
It appears that Handy's friendship and collaboration with New York lawyer and music critic Abbe Niles may have contributed to Handy's ability to bring blues print music to a wider audience. Niles was a prolific collector and published critic of what was known as 'race' records (recordings), with performances by African American artists, specifically marketed to African Americans. Niles' valuable contribution to folk, roots, and blues music was as a critic and scholar regularly published in magazines targetted at white, middle-class audiences. That is why I am somewhat surprised by the inclusion of a number of works by composers such as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, and George and Ira Gershwin; who were known mainly for their work for stage and screen musicals; not for blues music.
While Handy has secured an entry on Wikipedia, it is surprising that Niles has not (a Wiki search reveals he appears in many other entries). Niles' lengthy introduction to Handy's book tries to explain what is, for the time, a relatively unknown genre of music. After all, the book was published just four years after the BBC radio first went to air; and six years before the BBC first transmitted TV (to a very limited audience).
It is worth seeking further information on Niles through recent blog entries; and comforting to know that much of his work seems to have been preserved.
A story of the collaboration between Handy and Niles, along with their friendship, would be a welcome addition to my collection.

Blues: An Anthology (2001)
Introduction
Foreword
I. The folk-blues as verse
II. The folk-blues as music
III. William Christopher Handy
IV. The modern blues
V. Adoption and influence of the blues
VI. The pioneers
-- Notes to the collection
(The Anthology)
Train's a-comin' — Handy
Let us cheer the weary traveller (Spiritual) — Handy
Somebody's wrong about dis Bible — Handy
Joe Jacobs — Handy
Goin' to see my Sarah — Handy
Sail away, ladies — Handy
Come on, Eph! — Handy
Juba — Handy
East St. Louis — Handy
A typical stomp — Handy
Careless love (Folk-Melody) — Handy; Koenig and Williams
Ever after on (I’ll Love My Baby Till The Sea Runs Dry) — Handy
Vesta and Mattie's blues — Handy
Got no mo' home dan a dog - Folk-Blues — Handy
Friendless blues — Handy and Gilbert
The Jogo blues — Handy
St. Louis blues — Handy
Loveless love - A Blues Novelty — Handy
Joe Turner blues -- Handy
The Shakey blues — Nash
Goin' down that long, long lonesome road — Nash
Florida blues — Phillips (Handy); Hoffman and Neale
The hesitating blues -- Handy
Aunt Hagar's children -- Handy
Stingaree blues - A Down Home Blues — Kemp
West Texas blues - Fox Trot — Booker
Deep river blues (Meditation) — Williams and Green
Hookin' cow blues -- Williams and Handy
Blind man blues -- Mc Laurin and Green
The blues I've got -- Read and Neal
Banjo blues (Blue Man Sam’s Lament) — Williams
Rock Pile blues (Mama’s Prison Yard Blues) — Williams
Mississippi Delta blues - Bamville Croon — Williams
Mountain top blues (Blue Mama’s Suicide Wall) — Williams
Kansas City blues -- Bowman (Wheeler) and Bowles
Long gone blues -- Handy and Smith
John Henro blues -- Handy
Atlanta blues (Make Me One Pallett On Your Floor) — Handy and Elman
Chicago blues -- Handy
Gouge of armour avenue -- Handy
Dallas blues -- Wand and Garrett
You'll think of me -- H. Qualli Clark
Blue gummed blues -- Handy
Harlem blues -- Handy
Homesickness blues -- Cliff Hess
Left all alone again blues -- Kern and Caldwell
The Schoolhouse Blues -- Irving Berlin
[Excerpt from…] Krazy Kat — A Jazz Pantomime — Herriman and
Carpenter
[You don't know…] “The half of it, dearie, blues” (Duet) -- G and I Gershwin
Rhapsody in blue — for Jazz Band and Piano — George Gershwin
Concerto in F. - II Movement (Excerpt) — George Gershwin

Other reading of related texts
Reference List / In-Text Citation Styles in APA 6th
Please Note: I do not strictly follow APA style in these citations as I would like various technology and media to be able to access these pages.


Ref. .

20220430
www.worldcat.org


Unless otherwise noted all books listed were in my personal library at the time of the first blog posting about the book.
Some titles were borrowed or referenced from RMIT University libraries (City, Carlton, Brunswick Campuses) during the period 2006-2016; or from Hobsons Bay City Council library. or Bayside (Brighton) Council library, or Prahran Mechanics Institute (& ARHS) library.

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