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COMPOSER

W. C. Handy

1873 - 1958

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William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. He was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musicians who played the distinctively American blues music, Handy did not create the blues genre but was the one of the first to publish music in the blues form, thereby taking the blues from a regional music style (Delta blues) with a limited audience to a new level of popularity.Handy was an educated musician who used elements of folk music in his compositions. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of W. C. Handy has received more than 970,406 page views. His biography is available in 26 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 25 in 2019). W. C. Handy is the 945th most popular composer (down from 936th in 2019), the 4,644th most popular biography from United States (up from 4,972nd in 2019) and the 51st most popular American Composer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 970k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 50.05

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 26

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 2.89

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.67

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of W. C. Handies by language


Among COMPOSERS

Among composers, W. C. Handy ranks 945 out of 1,216Before him are Kenji Kawai, Sándor Veress, Ester Mägi, Ary Barroso, Myroslav Skoryk, and Daniel Alomía Robles. After him are Simeon ten Holt, Percy Faith, Carlo Rustichelli, Akira Ifukube, Marvin Hamlisch, and Wilhelm Kienzl.

Most Popular Composers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1873, W. C. Handy ranks 109Before him are Charles Fox Parham, Cesare Orsenigo, Rudolf Charousek, Gabriel Terra, Sunao Tawara, and Mariano Azuela. After him are Gyula Peidl, Antun Gustav Matoš, Max Švabinský, Richard von Kühlmann, A. K. Fazlul Huq, and Olav Bjaaland. Among people deceased in 1958, W. C. Handy ranks 94Before him are Nereu Ramos, Otto Witte, Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria, J. G. Strijdom, Armas Järnefelt, and Bart van der Leck. After him are Francisco Olazar, Goro Yamada, Celso Benigno Luigi Costantini, Big Bill Broonzy, Aarre Merikanto, and Paul Reinecke.

Others Born in 1873

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Others Deceased in 1958

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In United States

Among people born in United States, W. C. Handy ranks 4,644 out of 18,182Before him are John Kitzmiller (1913), Pete Rose (1941), Donald Byrd (1932), Michael McKean (1947), Gene Autry (1907), and Kylie Jenner (1997). After him are Kid Ory (1886), Stephen McKinley Henderson (1949), Herbert Ross (1927), Norman Lloyd (1914), Hank Mobley (1930), and Craig Mello (1960).

Among COMPOSERS In United States

Among composers born in United States, W. C. Handy ranks 51Before him are Jerome Kern (1885), Elliott Carter (1908), La Monte Young (1935), Lee Konitz (1927), Frederic Rzewski (1938), and Cathy Berberian (1925). After him are Marvin Hamlisch (1944), Meredith Monk (1942), Walter Piston (1894), Frank Churchill (1901), Harry Partch (1901), and Michael Giacchino (1967).