By Graydon Rust

Alabama 200

November 16, 1873

Musician and songwriter W.C. Handy was born in Florence. Known as the “Father of the Blues,” Handy successfully transitioned blues from a regional musical style to the national pop culture scene. He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1993 and is honored in Florence each summer with the weeklong W.C. Handy Music Festival.

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