September 27, 1912: “Father of the Blues” W.C. Handy published “Memphis Blues,” what is believed to be the first commercially successful blues song. An Alabama native, Handy had moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1902, where he was exposed to a strange new music. A few years later, he moved to Memphis, where he became part of the Beale Street music scene. He combined the styles of different performers and helped to give the blues its contemporary form.

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Mr. Crump

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Subtitled "Mr. Crump", "The Memphis Blues" is said to be based on a campaign song written by Handy for Edward Crump, a mayoral candidate in Memphis, Tennessee. Handy claimed credit for writing "Mr. Crump", but Memphis musicians say it was written by Handy's clarinetist, Paul Wyer. Many musicologists question how much "Mr. Crump" actually shared with "The Memphis Blues", since the words, taken from an old folk song, "Mama Don' 'low", do not match up with the melody of "The Memphis Blues". Many think "Mr. Crump" was probably the same song as "Mr. Crump Don't Like It", later recorded by Frank Stokes of the Beale Street Sheiks (Paramount Race series, September 1927).

According to a member of Handy's band, S. L. "Stack" Mangham, the tune copyrighted by Handy in 1912 was based on one heard by Handy at a dance in Cleveland, Mississippi around 1903, when it was played by a three-piece string band now known to have been led by Prince McCoy.