Beale Street: The True Home of the Blues

I got the inspiration to write this article about Beale Street in Memphis Tennessee while listening to my wife playing some tunes from her all time favorite artist, Joni Mitchell. What does Joni Mitchell have to do with the blues or Beale Street, you may ask? Not as much as she has with jazz or folk music, but there are some strong influences in some of her songs. One tune in particular is "Furry Sings the Blues," written for her meeting back in the seventies with old time Memphis blues player Furry Lewis and her experiences of Beale Street and its music scene at the time.

Briefly, for the folks not familiar with the history of the famous Beale Street: It is a street that runs almost two miles in downtown Memphis, Tennessee from the Mississippi River to East Street. It is a significant location in African-American history and the history of the blues.

In 1909 a talented and gifted musician by the name of W.C. Handy and his band moved to Memphis and established themselves on Beale Street. This move would change the course of music history. Handy wrote many popular tunes, including a campaign song for then Mayoral Candidate E. H. Crump. The song "Mr. Crump" would later be entitled "Memphis Blues" and become huge, and history would go on to view W.C. Handy as the Father of the Blues. That’s why mentioning this famous street makes a valid post. Beale Street is not just some ordinary street in the United States. It is the most important street in the history of blues music!

Handy also wrote the classic song "Beale Street Blues" in 1916, influencing the change of the street’s name from Beale Avenue to Beale Street. For many decades afterwards, many famous blues and jazz players made their name on Beale Street and helped develop the style that would become known as The Memphis Blues.

Article Author: The Blues Blogger

I love music! It was a memorable part of my life growing up in the sixties and continues to be to this day. I recall hearing different genres from every room in our house. However, it was the soulful blues and improvisational jazz texture that would …

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