William Christopher Handy, known as W.C. Handy, was born on November 16, 1873, in Florence, Alabama, and passed away on March 28, 1958, in New York, New York. Handy was an influential American composer who played a pivotal role in transforming popular music by integrating the blues idiom into the then-popular ragtime music. Among his most renowned compositions is the classic "St. Louis Blues."

Handy was raised in a family of Methodist ministers and received his education at Teachers Agricultural and Mechanical College in Huntsville, Alabama. Despite his family's religious background, he pursued his passion for music from a young age, mastering several instruments, including the organ, piano, guitar, cornet, and trumpet. In 1892, seeking broader horizons, Handy left Florence and traveled throughout the Midwest, engaging in various musical endeavors and teaching from 1900 to 1902.

From 1903 to 1921, Handy conducted his own orchestra, the Knights of Pythias, in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Immersed in the music of the Mississippi Delta and Memphis, he began arranging local tunes for his band's performances. Facing challenges in publishing his compositions, Handy partnered with Harry Pace to establish the Pace & Handy Music Company, later known as Handy Brothers Music Company.

During the transition from ragtime to jazz, Handy's work was instrumental in defining the blues as a harmonic framework for improvisation. His compositions, such as "The Memphis Blues" (1912) and "St. Louis Blues" (1914), incorporated the melancholic "blue" notes characteristic of African American folk music. Handy also composed other notable blues pieces, marches, and symphonic works.

In addition to his compositions, Handy published anthologies of African American spirituals and blues, including "Blues: An Anthology" (1926) and "A Treasury of the Blues" (1949). He also authored studies on Black American musicians and his autobiography, "Father of the Blues," was published in 1941. Handy's contributions to music have left an indelible mark on American culture.