HANDY, W[ILLIAM] C[HRISTOPHER] (FATHER OF THE BLUES
). Composer ( in Florence, Alabama; in New York, New York). He studied organ as a child and obtained musical training at the Florence District School for Negroes. He taught himself to play cornet and eventually joined a local band. When he was fifteen he joined a touring minstrel troupe, which however became stranded after playing a few towns. He returned to school, then after graduation found employment...