African American musicians

Scope and Contents This collection includes three letters by W. C. Handy, written between 1947 and 1949; all letters are signed by Handy and are written on Handy Brothers Music Co. letterhead. In one letter, addressed to Hart A. Wand, Handy describes his collaborations with William Grant Still, Fletcher Henderson, and other musicians; this letter ends with an anecdote describing the arrest of a church organist for intoxication after playing "St. Louis Blues" on the church bell tower. In another letter, Handy...