🎂🎂🎂Father of the Blues "W.C. Handy" Museum 🏛

William Christoper Handy was born November 16, 1873, in Florence, Alabama.  

Come celebrate the birthday of W.C. Handy on November 16 at the Handy Home, Museum, and Library on 620 West College Street in Florence. 

From 11:00AM to 1:00PM you can tour the museum and listen to music on the front lawn of the museum. 

It is free to the public with a birthday cake and other refreshments.

In 2009, my daughter, granddaughter, and I joined in the celebration and toured the Museum, Home, and Library. 

Happy Birthday Father of the Blues "The chocolate cake was  delicious"

Bust of Handy

Picture of Handy 

Library 

Handy and the St Louis Blues

Inside the Cabin

Handy's Piano

Kitchen of Cabin 

The W. C. Handy Birthplace, Museum, and Library, in Florence, Lauderdale County, was established to celebrate the life of musician and composer William "W. C." Handy (1873-1958), known as the "Father of the Blues." Handy himself donated the seed money to set up the museum, which now includes several buildings and houses a large collection of memorabilia, personal items, and objects relating to Handy's musical career. 

Handy gave to the city the $29,000 he was paid for the land on which the cabin stood to be used for the future restoration of his childhood home as a museum. The cabin was carefully dismantled and the logs were numbered and stored for later reassembly. Handy also bequeathed a large number of his personal possessions to the city to be used in the cabin after a suitable new location was found.

A site was selected at 620 West College Street, in the southwest corner of town. Work began early in 1970 on reassembling the log cabin and on constructing a museum next to the cabin to properly house and display the artifacts and tell the story of Handy's life and career. The completed structure was filled with the artifacts that the Handy family sent to Florence from their home in New York, including the upright piano on which Handy composed the "St. Louis Blues," his brass trumpet, furniture, and numerous boxes of his letters, pictures, musical compositions, personal mementos, and datebooks.

Local citizens donated furnishings and other items that represented the period during which Handy lived there as a child. The W. C. Handy Museum opened to the public on June 7, 1970. 

A separate building was added in 1980 to house the Black Heritage Library, which was filled with books donated to or purchased for the museum under the direction of the Cabin Committee. 

In 2002, an addition was constructed that included a new area for the Black Heritage Library, office space, a kitchen, and a restroom as well as a community meeting room.

Article from the Encyclopedia of Alabama 

🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼2016 Saturday July 30, Interviewing Songwriters at Library and Music at Visitor Center

At the Library, I listened to Andreas Werner interview Jimmy Johnson, Tim Carr, and Travis Wammack local songwriters & entertainers. From 11-12:30PM 

🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼🎼🎶🎼

 Andreas Werner Jimmy Johnson, Tim Carr, and Travis Warmack

Tim talked about his love for writing music, singing, and producing.
He also talked about his collaboration with other people to make it and shoot videos.

Jimmy Johnson is a session guitarist and a member of the original Swampers. He talked about becoming an engineer, producer, and studio owner. 

Travis started his career at the age of eleven when he wrote and recorded his first record. At the age of seventeen, he hit the American charts with "Scratch". He talked about being Little Richard's band leader for many years. 
Tim, Jimmy, and Travis are still going strong but not traveling as much. They are enjoying their golden years. 

Harry Potter Event at Florence Library 

Have you seen this Wizard?

For lunch, I ordered a kid's chicken finger meal from Jack's.
I went to JC Pennys where I bought a black dress for Sunday. 

My last event of the day was at the Visitor Center, entertainers were Travis Wammack and Microwave Dave Gallaher. 

Microwave Dave and Travis Wammack jamming at Visitor Center

They sang, the Last Call for Alcohol, You Better Move on, I forgot to remember, we had it all, and many others. 
A drummer (Robert) joined in the last half of the show and he did not have a drumming stick because he used close hangers.
They ended the show with a bang!!
Wow! What a show!
If I had known Microwave Dave was that good I would have attended more of his shows during the Handy Festival. 

Microwave Dave Gallaher

Robert the drummer

Travis Wammack
A guitarist, singer, and young instrumental genius from Memphis who cut his first record at the tender age of twelve, Travis Wammack is one of the great unheralded guitarists of rock & roll

Microwave Dave Gallaher
For over 25 years, “ Microwave” Dave Gallaher has been an important part of the music scene in Huntsville, Alabama. He continues to thrive as a recording and performing artist as a solo act, and also as the frontman for Microwave Dave and the Nukes. Since 1989, he has hosted highly entertaining weekly shows on two local radio stations, featuring a wide spectrum of blues styles, eras, and artists.

W.C. Handy Music Festival
July 22-31 2016
The Shoals