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A Symphony of Dark Voices

A Symphony of Dark Voices A Symphony of Dark Voices One day during W C. Handy's visit to Southern California, we drove him to Tijuana, over the Mexican border. As we sat in a restaurant eating our dinner, a singer who accompanied himself on a guitar came to entertain us. When he asked if there were any special songs that he could sing for us, a shrewd look came over Mr. Handy's face. "I am going to find out about something," declared the Father of the Blues. "Langston Hughes once told me that in his travels to many parts of the world, he found that the 'St. Louis Blues' is regarded almost as the American national anthem. Now well see if he was right." Expectantly, he beckoned to the serenader. "Please sing the 'St. Louis Blues,' " he asked. Our troubadour looked blank. He was sorry, but he did not know this American song. Would we be willing, instead, to hear "Mexicali Rose?" My wife carefully explained, in Spanish, that here was the com­ poser of the "St. Louis Blues" (by this time all of us were a little nervous) and so could he, would he please recall this famous song and sing it http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Black Sacred Music Duke University Press

A Symphony of Dark Voices

Spencer, Jon Michael
Black Sacred Music , Volume 6 (2) – Sep 1, 1992
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Copyright
Copyright © 1992 by Duke University Press
ISSN
1043-9455
eISSN
2640-9879
DOI
10.1215/10439455-6.2.136
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

A Symphony of Dark Voices One day during W C. Handy's visit to Southern California, we drove him to Tijuana, over the Mexican border. As we sat in a restaurant eating our dinner, a singer who accompanied himself on a guitar came to entertain us. When he asked if there were any special songs that he could sing for us, a shrewd look came over Mr. Handy's face. "I am going to find out about something," declared the Father of the Blues. "Langston Hughes once told me that in his travels to many parts of the world, he found that the 'St. Louis Blues' is regarded almost as the American national anthem. Now well see if he was right." Expectantly, he beckoned to the serenader. "Please sing the 'St. Louis Blues,' " he asked. Our troubadour looked blank. He was sorry, but he did not know this American song. Would we be willing, instead, to hear "Mexicali Rose?" My wife carefully explained, in Spanish, that here was the com­ poser of the "St. Louis Blues" (by this time all of us were a little nervous) and so could he, would he please recall this famous song and sing it

Journal

Black Sacred Music – Duke University Press

Published: Sep 1, 1992

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