Delta Blues Inspires W.C. Handy

Around 1905, while leading his orchestra at a dance on this site, W.C. Handy was unable to perform requested blues numbers, and a local band stepped in and stole the show. He later wrote, "My enlightenment came in Cleveland. That night an American composer was born." Handy went on to pen such blues classics as Memphis Blues and St. Louis Blues.

Cleveland, Mississippi · United States