It’s W.C. Handy’s birthday. If that name sounds familiar, that’s because W.C. was the Father of the Blues. And if you think he just stumbled upon that unique style, here’s Handy laying it out. “I was sure to bear down on the third and seventh tone of the scale, slurring between major and minor. By introducing flat thirds and sevenths (now called blue notes) into my song, although its prevailing key was major, and I carried this device into my melody as well. This was a distinct departure, but as it turned out, it touched the spot.” And I bet you just thought it all just fell together in some Delta moonshine shack by accident.
