St. Louis Blues

W. C. Handy

Scores

Pace & Handy 1914 Memphis issue — apparent first edition

Six-page voice-and-piano issue published by Pace & Handy Music Co. in Memphis in 1914. The cover retains the Memphis imprint, and the first music page prints only the original MCMXIV copyright—not the 1918 copyright-transfer line found in Brown's later New York issue. The scan matches Fred E. Fuld's published description of the first edition, and a reproduced Handy interview says its first title page was deep blue with white lettering. Neither source establishes that this particular physical copy belongs to the first printing, so it is described here as an apparent first edition with its precise impression unverified. The scan is preserved by the Gaylord Music Library, Washington University in St. Louis. Source S1.

Washington University 1914 Memphis issue — front cover
Washington University 1914 Memphis issue — score page 2
Washington University 1914 Memphis issue — score page 3
Washington University 1914 Memphis issue — score page 4
Washington University 1914 Memphis issue — score page 5
Washington University 1914 Memphis issue — advertising back cover

Pace & Handy issue

Six-page 1918 voice-and-piano issue published by Pace & Handy Music Co. Brown's record describes it as played by Handy's orchestra and marks it No Copyright - United States. Source S9.

Brown 1918 Pace & Handy issue — front cover
Brown 1918 Pace & Handy issue — score page 2
Brown 1918 Pace & Handy issue — score page 3
Brown 1918 Pace & Handy issue — score page 4
Brown 1918 Pace & Handy issue — score page 5
Brown 1918 Pace & Handy issue — advertising back cover

Handy Bros. scenic-cover issue

The first six pages of IMSLP #716402: scenic front cover, four score pages, and an advertising back cover. IMSLP labels the containing PDF 'First edition' and dates it 1914, apparently using the composition's copyright date. Visual evidence shows that this Handy Bros. issue is later: it includes a ukulele arrangement and postdates the original Pace & Handy Memphis issue. Its precise publication date remains unverified. Source S4.

IMSLP #716402 — scenic front cover
IMSLP #716402 — scenic issue score page 2
IMSLP #716402 — scenic issue score page 3
IMSLP #716402 — scenic issue score page 4
IMSLP #716402 — scenic issue score page 5
IMSLP #716402 — scenic issue advertising back cover

Paul Whiteman promotional issue

The second six pages bundled in IMSLP #716402: Paul Whiteman front cover, four score pages, and an advertising back cover. It is kept distinct from the scenic-cover issue even though IMSLP distributes both in one PDF. Source S4.

IMSLP #716402 — Paul Whiteman front cover
IMSLP #716402 — Paul Whiteman issue score page 2
IMSLP #716402 — Paul Whiteman issue score page 3
IMSLP #716402 — Paul Whiteman issue score page 4
IMSLP #716402 — Paul Whiteman issue score page 5
IMSLP #716402 — Paul Whiteman issue advertising back cover

Handy Bros. revised edition

Four-page revised edition for voice and piano with ukulele chord diagrams in D tuning; exact printing date unverified. The cover explicitly says Revised Edition and Ukulele Arrangement and promotes Marion Harris's Columbia record 2944, recorded in 1920, so this is not an original 1914 printing. The first music page prints Copyright MCMXIV by W. C. Handy and Handy Bros. Music Co., Inc., 1547 Broadway, N.Y.C.; that copyright date does not establish the date of this revised printing. No 1942 renewal notice or Abner Silver credit was found on these four pages. These JPEGs are display derivatives rendered from the preserved PDF at 150 DPI with Poppler pdftoppm; the PDF remains the canonical downloaded artifact. Source S2.

Handy Bros. revised edition — cover
Handy Bros. revised edition — score page 2
Handy Bros. revised edition — score page 3
Handy Bros. revised edition — score page 4

Rudy Vallée promotional edition

Six-page voice, piano, and ukulele edition: illustrated front cover, four score pages, and an advertising back cover. Duke dates the underlying work to 1914; this physical edition is later and remains undated here pending further research. Source S8.

Duke Rudy Vallée edition — front cover
Duke Rudy Vallée edition — score page 2
Duke Rudy Vallée edition — score page 3
Duke Rudy Vallée edition — score page 4
Duke Rudy Vallée edition — score page 5
Duke Rudy Vallée edition — advertising back cover

Transcriptions

St. Louis Blues — Pace & Handy 1914 Memphis edition

Complete — transcribed and engraved by Fabricio C Zuardi.

Current scope: Complete voice-and-piano transcription of scan pages 2-5, from the opening pickup through the Chorus and its D.C. return. Dedicated under CC0 1.0 Universal (transcription and editorial contributions only).

Synthesized performance:

St. Louis Blues — transcription of the Handy Bros. ukulele edition

Complete — transcribed and engraved by Fabricio C Zuardi.

Current scope: Complete voice and piano transcription with source D-tuning ukulele diagrams.

Synthesized performance:

Arrangements and transcriptions

St. Louis Blues for piano (1928)

Arranged by Rube Bloom for solo piano.

Eight-page piano arrangement published by Alfred & Co. IMSLP marks it Public Domain and Non-PD Canada; this project treats the locally hosted copy as public domain in the United States. Source S5.

Rube Bloom piano arrangement — page 1
Rube Bloom piano arrangement — page 2
Rube Bloom piano arrangement — page 3
Rube Bloom piano arrangement — page 4
Rube Bloom piano arrangement — page 5
Rube Bloom piano arrangement — page 6
Rube Bloom piano arrangement — page 7
Rube Bloom piano arrangement — page 8

St. Louis Blues (1930)

Arranged by J. Lawrence Cook for piano.

Eleven-page arrangement scanned at the Richmond Public Library Memory Lab. Wikimedia Commons identifies the US copyright as not renewed. The original PDF is preserved unchanged and the gallery images are display derivatives. Source S19.

J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — cover
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 2
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 3
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 4
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 5
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 6
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 7
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 8
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 9
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 10
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 11

Creative Commons adaptations

St. Louis Blues for four recorders (2016)

By David Edward Kemp. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International.

Arrangement for one soprano, one alto, one tenor, and one bass recorder. The locally hosted PDFs are unmodified; the JPEG page images are display derivatives. Source S6.

David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — score page 1
David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — score page 2
David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — score page 3
David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — score page 4
David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — score page 5
David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — score page 6

Synthesized performance of the four-recorder arrangement (2020-11-05)

By Dadvid. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.

IMSLP describes this as a synthesized MIDI performance, but the distributed artifact is an MP3. The locally hosted file is unmodified. Source S7.

Dadvid synthesized performance of David Kemp's arrangement (MP3)

Listen

Victor Military Band (1916)

Play St. Louis Blues from 1:37

Original Dixieland Jazz Band with Al Bernard (1921)

Handy's Memphis Blues Band (1922) — 30-second LOC excerpt

Ted Lewis Jazz Band (1922)

Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong (1925)

Frank Ferera and John Paaluhi (1925)

United States Air Force Band (1994)

The Falconaires (1996)

United States Air Force Band of Mid-America, Shades of Blue (1997)

Hear other recordings

Recording rights have not been reviewed; the player below is an iframe for the Archive.org page.

Cover image for W. C. Handy — gbia0376191a

Archive.org item

Open this item on Internet Archive

Watch a performance

W. C. Handy performs St. Louis Blues on The Ed Sullivan Show

Copyrighted external media. Linked to the official Ed Sullivan Show YouTube channel; not hosted by this project.

Marion Harris — St. Louis Blues (1920)

The underlying 1920 recording is public domain in the United States. This external transfer declares no Creative Commons license and is linked from YouTube rather than hosted by this project.

Movies

St. Louis Blues (1929)

Sixteen-minute musical short directed by Dudley Murphy and starring Bessie Smith, with James P. Johnson, the Hall Johnson Choir, and an all-Black cast. The film was selected for the National Film Registry.

Watch on the Library of Congress

The link opens the Library of Congress catalog page and its viewing options; the project does not host the film. Wikimedia Commons identifies this film as public domain in the United States. Source S37; Source S38.

Flirty Birdy (1945)

Tom and Jerry animated short directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with music by Scott Bradley. Its score quotes W. C. Handy's St. Louis Blues during Tom's dance in disguise; in the linked copy, the passage runs from 1:50 to 2:51.

Watch on YouTube at 1:50

Copyrighted external media. The link opens the supplied third-party YouTube copy at 1:50; the project does not download or host the cartoon. YouTube identifies this 3:15 upload as Part 1, so it is documented here as the available scene rather than represented as the complete short. Its availability may change. Source S41; Source S42; Source S43.

St. Louis Blues (1958)

Paramount Pictures biographical musical about W. C. Handy, directed by Allen Reisner and starring Nat King Cole, Eartha Kitt, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson, and Ruby Dee.

Watch on YouTube

Copyrighted external media. This is a third-party YouTube viewing copy, not a project-hosted file; its availability may change. Portions of its soundtrack are muted, apparently through YouTube's Content ID system. Linking does not grant permission to copy or redistribute the film. Source S39; Source S40.

W. C. Handy (1967)

Thirteen-minute educational documentary about W. C. Handy, produced by Vignette Films, one of the first Black-owned film companies. The supplied YouTube copy identifies Steve Allen as narrator and dates the film to 1967.

Watch on YouTube

Copyrighted external media. This is a third-party YouTube viewing copy, not a project-hosted file; its availability may change. The uploader's fair-use statement is the uploader's own assertion and is not a license to copy or redistribute the film. Source S44; Source S45.

Books

Father of the Blues: An Autobiography (1941)

W. C. Handy's autobiography, edited by Arna Bontemps with a foreword by Abbe Niles and published by the Macmillan Company. Its chapter list includes “St. Louis Blues and Solvent Bank.”

Read or borrow at Internet Archive

External Internet Archive access copy; the project does not download or host the book. Availability and borrowing or download options are controlled by Internet Archive. No public-domain or redistribution claim is made here. Source S46; Source S47.

Albums

Father of the Blues: A Musical Autobiography (1953; 1980 reissue)

W. C. Handy narrates and performs in a musical autobiography drawn from sessions recorded April 12, 1952 and December 7, 1953. The program includes two performances of St. Louis Blues, the second with Katherine Handy Lewis on vocals. The linked Discogs release is DRG Records SL 5192, a 1980 LP reissue of the 1953 album.

Listen on YouTube

Copyrighted external media. The 46:33 YouTube upload and Discogs catalog record are linked for reference; the project does not download or host the audio. Their availability may change, and linking does not grant permission to copy or redistribute the recording. Source S48; Source S49.

Sheet music and a historical reference recording for study.

Research record

Research conducted: 2026-10-10.

Documented facts

W. C. Handy is the composer and lyricist. S2 S3 S10
The locally preserved 1997 Air Force recording is Wikimedia Commons’ fixed 2022 revision. The Defense.gov MP3 (SHA-256 e4ed79423feb70445a681a516f9706ce925d5b4a2e5110c39a8f72749f6ff349) matches Commons’ original 2021 upload byte for byte; the local fixed revision has SHA-256 e57e500bea9c1eedbfdd2fb2879aed657bbab5c94aa83911210da499d0797f90. S22 S23
The composition was first published on September 11, 1914. This date does not establish the printing date of the preserved revised edition. S1 S24
The Gaylord Music Library at Washington University in St. Louis preserves a six-page 1914 Pace & Handy Memphis issue. Its cover and first music page identify Memphis as the place of publication; unlike Brown’s 1918 New York issue, it has no 1918 copyright-transfer line, record catalog numbers, or ‘As played by Handy’s Orchestra’ heading. The copy matches Fuld’s bibliographic description of the first edition, while a reproduced Handy interview describes the first title page as deep blue with white lettering. This supports—but does not conclusively establish—the identification as a first edition; the precise printing or impression of the Washington University copy remains unverified. S1 S9 S35 S36
IMSLP file #716402 is a 12-page scan containing a scenic-cover issue and a Paul Whiteman promotional issue, each followed by four score pages and an advertising back cover. S4
Rube Bloom arranged St. Louis Blues for solo piano; Alfred & Co. published the eight-page arrangement in 1928. S5
David Edward Kemp arranged St. Louis Blues for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass recorders and licensed the score and parts under CC BY-SA 4.0. S6
Dadvid published a synthesized performance of David Kemp’s recorder arrangement under CC BY 4.0 on November 5, 2020. S7
Duke University Libraries preserves a six-image Rudy Vallée promotional edition for voice, piano, and ukulele and marks it No Copyright - United States. S8
The reference recording features the Original Dixieland Jazz Band and vocalist Al Bernard and was recorded on May 25, 1921. S10
The recording was issued by Victor as catalog number 18772 from matrix B-25412, take 2. S10
The Library of Congress states that US sound recordings published before 1923 entered the public domain on January 1, 2022. S11
Ted Lewis Jazz Band recorded an instrumental St. Louis blues on December 7, 1922; Columbia issued it as catalog A3790 from matrix 80711, take 2. S12
Bessie Smith recorded St. Louis Blues on January 14, 1925; Columbia released it in 1925 as catalog 14064-D. S13 S15
Frank Ferera and John Paaluhi recorded The St. Louis Blues as a Hawaiian guitar duet on September 4, 1925. S25
W. C. Handy performed St. Louis Blues on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 6, 1949. S16
Marion Harris recorded St. Louis Blues with an orchestra conducted by Charles Prince in New York City on April 16, 1920; Columbia issued it as A2944. S17
Jimmy Joy and the St. Anthony Hotel Orchestra recorded St. Louis blues in Dallas in September 1925; OKeh issued it as catalog 40539, matrix 9377, take A. UCSB Library lists it as public domain in the United States as of January 1, 2026. S26 S27
Victor Military Band, conducted by Edward T. King, recorded the Joe Turner blues medley in Camden, New Jersey on October 19, 1916: Victor 18174, matrix B-18495, take 5. LOC lists St. Louis blues as an alternate title. The recording is included in LOC’s public-domain-assessed National Jukebox Data Package. S28 S29
LOC’s Registry essay identifies Handy’s Memphis Blues Band’s St. Louis Blues as recorded in New York in January 1922, opening with the tango bridge and ending with Ole Miss Blues. The LOC listening page supplies a 30-second excerpt. UCSB’s Black Swan discography documents matrix 970 take 2 on Black Swan 2053 by May 20, 1922, corresponding to Paramount 20098; the excerpt’s specific take is not documented. S31 S30 S32
SIUE’s library catalog lists W. C. Handy’s Ole Miss Rag as published by Pace & Handy Music Co. in Memphis in 1916. LOC’s Registry essay identifies Ole Miss Blues as the ending of Handy’s 1922 St. Louis Blues performance. S34 S31
The Library of Congress preserves a sixteen-minute 1929 musical short of St. Louis Blues, directed by Dudley Murphy and starring Bessie Smith; the film was selected for the National Film Registry. S37
Paramount Pictures produced the 1958 St. Louis Blues biographical musical, directed by Allen Reisner and starring Nat King Cole. AFI records a 1958 Paramount copyright registration, LP10305. S39
The 1945 MGM Tom and Jerry short Flirty Birdy, directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera with music by Scott Bradley, quotes St. Louis Blues. In the supplied YouTube copy, the passage runs from 1:50 to 2:51. S41 S43
Vignette Films produced a thirteen-minute educational film about W. C. Handy. The supplied YouTube listing dates it to 1967 and identifies Steve Allen as narrator. S44 S45
Macmillan published W. C. Handy’s Father of the Blues: An Autobiography in 1941; Arna Bontemps edited it and Abbe Niles supplied the foreword. S46 S47
W. C. Handy’s Father of the Blues musical autobiography was originally issued in 1953 from sessions recorded in 1952 and 1953. The documented 1980 DRG LP reissue includes two St. Louis Blues tracks, one featuring Katherine Handy Lewis. S48

Reviewed public-domain recordings

These recordings are documented as public domain in the United States.

Victor Military Band — 1916-10-19 — local audio · source record — Joe Turner blues medley, including St. Louis blues; the full medley is provided. St. Louis blues begins at 1:37, as identified by the transcriber. Conducted by Edward T. King, recorded in Camden, New Jersey; Victor 18174, matrix B-18495, take 5. LOC lists St. Louis blues as an alternate title. The MP3 is from LOC’s National Jukebox Data Package, whose recordings LOC assesses as public domain based on their metadata dates.
Original Dixieland Jazz Band with Al Bernard — 1921-05-25 — local audio · source record
Handy’s Memphis Blues Band — 1922-01 — local audio · source record — LOC National Recording Registry excerpt from Handy’s January 1922 New York session; 30 seconds, not the full recording. Retrieved from an April 5, 2025 Wayback capture of LOC’s MP3 because the live endpoint returned HTTP 403. The session’s St. Louis Blues was issued on Paramount 20098, matrix 970; UCSB’s Black Swan discography documents the corresponding Black Swan 2053 issue, take 2, by May 20, 1922. LOC does not identify the excerpt’s exact take or source disc. Publication evidence supports a U.S. public-domain assessment for this historical session; the specific take remains unverified.
Ted Lewis Jazz Band — 1922-12-07 — local audio · source record
Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong — 1925-01-14 — local audio · source record — Louis Armstrong accompanies Smith on cornet. Wikimedia Commons identifies this recording as public domain in the United States under the Classics Protection and Access Act.
Jimmy Joy and St. Anthony Hotel Orchestra — 1925-09 — source record — Recorded in Dallas in September 1925; OKeh 40539, matrix 9377, take A. UCSB Library explicitly lists this recording as public domain in the United States as of January 1, 2026. Catalog record at UCSB Library. Audio currently unavailable; UCSB returned HTTP 403 on October 5, 2026.
Frank Ferera and John Paaluhi — 1925-09-04 — local audio · source record
United States Air Force Band — 1994 — local audio · source record — Track 10 of We Remember, Disc 2. The embedded metadata credits W. C. Handy and identifies the performer, album, track number, and year. Strong evidence supports US public-domain status because the Air Force distributes this recording through its Public Domain Music collection; this is not an unconditional legal guarantee or a claim about other jurisdictions.
The Falconaires — 1996 — local audio · source record — Track 1 of That Long Long Road. The embedded metadata identifies the performer, album, track number, and year. Strong evidence supports US public-domain status because the Air Force distributes this recording through its Public Domain Music collection; this is not an unconditional legal guarantee or a claim about other jurisdictions.
United States Air Force Band of Mid-America, Shades of Blue — 1997-01-28 — local audio · source record — Recorded January 28–31, 1997. Strong evidence supports US public-domain status: the Air Force distributes the track through its Public Domain Music collection, and Wikimedia Commons records the Air Force’s representation that the transcription, performance, and recording are official-duty federal works. This is an evidence-based US conclusion, not an unconditional legal guarantee or a claim about other jurisdictions. The local file is Commons’ 2022 fixed revision (SHA-256 e57e500bea9c1eedbfdd2fb2879aed657bbab5c94aa83911210da499d0797f90). The Defense.gov file is byte-identical to Commons’ original 2021 upload (SHA-256 e4ed79423feb70445a681a516f9706ce925d5b4a2e5110c39a8f72749f6ff349). In an uploader-supplied YouTube Studio screenshot dated 2026-10-03, Content ID identifies a 14-second use of this track (video time 2:41:23–2:41:37) as St. Louis Blues March by Glenn Miller Orchestra, claimed by PONYCANYON, UMG on behalf of GRP; the uploader’s dispute is under review. Content ID is an automated matching and claims system, not a determination of copyright ownership; the claim does not change the documented identity or federal-work provenance of this distinct 1997 USAF recording.

Rights note

The evidence supports US public-domain use of the score editions and the 1916, 1921, 1922, 1925, 1994, 1996, and 1997 recordings listed as reviewed here. Washington University in St. Louis and the Internet Archive mark the preserved 1914 Pace & Handy Memphis issue with the Public Domain Mark. IMSLP marks file #716402 and its Handy Bros. material Public Domain; the downloaded file contains two later six-page issues that are displayed separately. Brown marks its 1918 Pace & Handy issue No Copyright - United States. Duke marks its six-image Rudy Vallée promotional edition as Free Re-Use and No Copyright - United States, with attribution to Duke University Libraries. Wikimedia Commons identifies J. Lawrence Cook’s 1930 arrangement as public domain in the United States because its copyright was not renewed. The Library of Congress states that US sound recordings published from 1923 through 1946 are protected for 100 years; the 1925 recordings therefore entered the US public domain on January 1, 2026. Project Gutenberg also explicitly identifies the Ferera and Paaluhi recording as public domain in the USA. Strong evidence supports US public-domain status for the three Air Force tracks because the Air Force distributes them through its Public Domain Music collection. For the 1997 track, Commons additionally records the Air Force’s representation that its transcription, performance, and recording are official-duty federal works. These are evidence-based conclusions, not unconditional legal guarantees; Commons notes that the Air Force-supplied metadata was not necessarily independently verified. UCSB Library explicitly lists Jimmy Joy and the St. Anthony Hotel Orchestra’s 1925 OKeh 40539 recording as public domain in the United States as of January 1, 2026; its DAHR record identifies matrix 9377, take A, recorded in Dallas in September 1925. LOC’s National Jukebox Data Package includes the 1916 Victor Military Band Joe Turner blues medley containing St. Louis blues, and assesses the dataset recordings as public domain based on their metadata dates. For Handy’s January 1922 session, LOC supplies a Registry excerpt and historical identification, while UCSB’s Black Swan discography documents a corresponding issue by May 20, 1922. This supports a U.S. public-domain assessment under the pre-1923 publication rule; LOC does not specify the excerpt’s exact take. The 1929 film is linked from the Library of Congress rather than hosted locally, with its US public-domain assessment documented separately. The 1958 Paramount film remains copyrighted and is only linked to a third-party YouTube upload; no copy is downloaded, hosted, or offered for redistribution by this project. Recording and publication dates are distinct. Copyright status may differ outside the United States.

Files

File	Source	SHA-256
Washington University 1914 Pace & Handy Memphis issue (PDF; apparent first edition)	S1	`807e41fd812858cebf5193144833d18fa94b8ce72375e747354ff28575dfb4a1`
Washington University 1914 Memphis issue — front cover	S1	`5caa597c7ff1236988efa1fc916454bdca0178c292762e429a0ccdf143dea380`
Washington University 1914 Memphis issue — score page 2	S1	`6614cd6e3ff2aa088afc8588c72ef63f5fa25c8eb480d866c26877015d1775e2`
Washington University 1914 Memphis issue — score page 3	S1	`0f169617fa6013250e21f01ffa3d1baced93ad4efbb6e9b5bdfd40bcd2370afb`
Washington University 1914 Memphis issue — score page 4	S1	`a18bcc9b8a5f2f4f8e479d848673c29ac4c5cd0946279faff1204ad688d4b8ce`
Washington University 1914 Memphis issue — score page 5	S1	`9a33d6fb418fd8b89acf5940ba941e2785b50f01a44956827b7b14b5862d3f0e`
Washington University 1914 Memphis issue — advertising back cover	S1	`f8880851712965a13c41c50fc35ff1da1ca9e30a50cafa0e7653381fc0e3cd97`
Handy Bros. revised edition (PDF; printing date unverified)	S2	`5eca837a94e7f242613246e7dd5b6d21820ca4f54bdffb3cf7729db8c9184e85`
IMSLP #716402 complete score (PDF)	S4	`3cee8621f3b990215d84ee419ff57230ddbec0ddf712a5b420621f59aaa01624`
IMSLP #716402 — scenic front cover	S4	`93ac6f8393c4e5c8cd81a0cd3d4a946b35cdad283a29f13c164258d3049372bf`
IMSLP #716402 — scenic issue score page 2	S4	`3b6e6ab92df47a463401b2ae5c632542f2dec2b8ae16dd06f113cda94e7f7226`
IMSLP #716402 — scenic issue score page 3	S4	`225ae08731bdbba2c1db91741a132a57a282bf74de047cd0f188fd44fa776f9a`
IMSLP #716402 — scenic issue score page 4	S4	`79e2d600a25f815d60460511163ed590e50cfdcf462c2db9052719ce6a9df519`
IMSLP #716402 — scenic issue score page 5	S4	`8f414393ba5dd1b3cfbccc3120ffff0dc1fb250d757e0ac090e5be993f00350a`
IMSLP #716402 — scenic issue advertising back cover	S4	`4b30e3ff2fe7a2561e4b0c1def27f1ee1eb7f18a2429d5d134478832aff362f4`
IMSLP #716402 — Paul Whiteman front cover	S4	`86f530e66d8f188b7afcc4d26f60822b8a9c30264dc799da6819a0e118b49cf4`
IMSLP #716402 — Paul Whiteman issue score page 2	S4	`cc3edebbdb4af67e0a91bf0d1223d4a130f7291cb332a226fae57dec27ee2637`
IMSLP #716402 — Paul Whiteman issue score page 3	S4	`a4edb76a4d4028a7005437937fc595036f09148663311af9f49ba410e47be026`
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IMSLP #716402 — Paul Whiteman issue score page 5	S4	`9fbfd73ac063f647bd4246c69a2c0dbbe7a2d654d8de15828deba067dc4fb3a4`
IMSLP #716402 — Paul Whiteman issue advertising back cover	S4	`7e6b1d6237e23fb9fe49469692192f27ffcd7fbdc497266cbdbdf4efaeee9d60`
Handy Bros. revised edition — cover	S2	`f5b2168b5a9a41abb76bfc066b7785c1aef12f044dba56d0d21af3524322dee6`
Rube Bloom piano arrangement (PDF)	S5	`38483056762802583eaf6b01fb49aa67397bd223d58f82d0f275be4132bafc8c`
Rube Bloom piano arrangement — page 1	S5	`dfae32bef9be5a4f3e1a3852a5db43d0601dbdb94f324466844a704df367987e`
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Rube Bloom piano arrangement — page 4	S5	`485fa4dce2ac8f8e27d3fdf88cc39c2150c9b70f2a2c5133fb1fe550f4e9de16`
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Rube Bloom piano arrangement — page 7	S5	`7da06e5e57d06dfe48472fa10a81ba64e5db985f65e58bf9146a386d9b4fc6d7`
Rube Bloom piano arrangement — page 8	S5	`a20a451650b35b13306caf5ed63c249cb1baae2c7db28703621865fce472ff2c`
David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — complete score (PDF)	S6	`812e7cacfcd06b1e31f942e959964eb5b916ea1137f6eecf0d55c1f0c82da230`
David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — complete parts (PDF)	S6	`8e4f3ae151fef96861ec64909c8748af7cd58ff894196fdfbf5a9fd354c1a9d1`
David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — score page 1	S6	`b2d5ced68df1366d90368ea9445a0ab9c684cd3ef2c25d8b7b52fba358efed1e`
David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — score page 2	S6	`afdac107b35c08a8a8e21e6b49b7519d4de2d2cf056b07809b28df43e43929e6`
David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — score page 3	S6	`65fcedebc2abac85f69e7a7e71c5176bf560894f52e9891e936d7c1c839e5b8b`
David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — score page 4	S6	`9336ebdd9c18c0710560e8e93ecee6aa0b9f472627031e06368cda5b21313805`
David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — score page 5	S6	`70b3a8beb469d7eb32fb8eaff0819b32e4faa96bd1ad18a65b850b8aad8a149d`
David Kemp four-recorder arrangement — score page 6	S6	`5e8792c32c77d335e2fb4b776af03afaa523cae3da830afae3d94585b2647d50`
Dadvid synthesized performance of David Kemp’s arrangement (MP3)	S7	`4e8e68bcbc29365c00973c5bd5f73e848ea733b9c0e8bb60b7ef0a98ef3a3760`
Handy Bros. revised edition — score page 2	S2	`2bae1ab681aedc231b3786985f9a9bd2a7fbf4018c3d09c6bc179cb162ab5170`
Handy Bros. revised edition — score page 3	S2	`dd05792808deddf1b593e566a28da6daadc201409190796f9725a2bb83ed2e61`
Handy Bros. revised edition — score page 4	S2	`3bb8af3b30db6d7965ab18695c66631586229bcdaecef022be4c1a5a2aa72f2e`
Duke Rudy Vallée edition (IIIF manifest)	S8	`9dd1ca4ff7d30971c717286bc48e9c58b1ba0f4ca99c94958822a7c09914fd68`
Duke Rudy Vallée edition — front cover	S8	`5738210e0c815e24be32391d3a97f4e49880690b5a6440afcba14c043ad19afa`
Duke Rudy Vallée edition — score page 2	S8	`2add0bdf1f843f691b519dd45881cbbe42335796e0fbb437e6132547d4b3d5d9`
Duke Rudy Vallée edition — score page 3	S8	`8e1d7fe79bea50a18fd96514d6ff53ee8c03199585654984a4d3dd9c6dedecec`
Duke Rudy Vallée edition — score page 4	S8	`2027e503d1498c6c90c93f8d11ebc14fd9407ab1dd61ad0f11bce2410c4574a4`
Duke Rudy Vallée edition — score page 5	S8	`ffb141b6f35c32c0b874a15d5872e1aed307af2ceb0ecd5070a170307d3e6e62`
Duke Rudy Vallée edition — advertising back cover	S8	`4174715a4fbeadb33956b310cfdbdc5ba71c916d4a043e4adcc126d30da46b8f`
Brown 1918 Pace & Handy issue (IIIF manifest)	S9	`f508451808c151130985bc7979f8e2c8a22af0e303f763e72fcc0c4565f08940`
Brown 1918 Pace & Handy issue — front cover	S9	`d5a113931ccd57e2d18f2fd23a1e63119a0534ad0263bd3dd6f43b20d27d8ace`
Brown 1918 Pace & Handy issue — score page 2	S9	`42d30ef58d45d3943b3bb0cabd7093b7bae4e913f5d9e29da5c47b95b3d46a4e`
Brown 1918 Pace & Handy issue — score page 3	S9	`2e513a5bae13b74184845a93d64a6751ed4e35076cd94c0e1075dcdcf4077b41`
Brown 1918 Pace & Handy issue — score page 4	S9	`5c1596bbc48e2bd852e653f27aa87fdc6bc06f05b77324f2ac340c6bc72a327d`
Brown 1918 Pace & Handy issue — score page 5	S9	`95052890a58890a8d0e55900bdb9deb9aa5139bd896b08587cc2055eb2619043`
Brown 1918 Pace & Handy issue — advertising back cover	S9	`77d4b35e1ed7d32f4512b04a540e84225cae35558a796f3573ddb0533d971de0`
Original Dixieland Jazz Band with Al Bernard (LOC WAV)	S10	`808f119cf86d6d9533b616e9bb3c58025b6e2ccd05434527c85914e17d66638d`
Original Dixieland Jazz Band with Al Bernard (LOC MP3)	S10	`01203bf2e379e1988114b2b93ab0fcc21721f179b99336d73d3fe154b2203b7a`
Ted Lewis Jazz Band (LOC WAV)	S12	`2415c38f5f4ac782d5865db53d24f9a56f0875e79064ea8e31f3271b00b6b605`
Ted Lewis Jazz Band (LOC MP3)	S12	`68fb9ae116e277d31eda50be5b64d74e2db5ec623f999c0c4a2ccf63af0019b3`
Frank Ferera and John Paaluhi (Project Gutenberg MP3)	S25	`46e8049358ebf63ab8e9a5e3e5947ce20dfeec9315a40202535a308acae1541c`
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 piano arrangement (PDF)	S19	`b7a8a8bb44ba3820566610e360ce527f755db01e23d0dca59e222a0ddca11af0`
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — cover	S19	`dda60356080371ad8d33ebfd39349a9e5ff4650cb5176cc36334a1347035e24a`
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 2	S19	`01f6fe40365d55ebe3ddc79ddfc2483bbcfc44ebb9a9ea48c4b94c72389293a5`
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 3	S19	`e468dc934d219630201ac99a37ae3d9adcfb839393655347d68db8ef5f48fd49`
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 4	S19	`19ebf82e64caa34a4825350c73e1379cf3fb499cecd886fa9668fd0312cbc74e`
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 5	S19	`9f7e47f095cae9050ff2d06ff941f5d4151b6171df4d502a9c582e23c4d90e44`
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 6	S19	`c3ca4daa6c3e693d79479bc52f2a884c620345b786ffe2f808ad3d81785a0b43`
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 7	S19	`af3ae69f5635ab14ba3ff80456df78885ade714ebbf4dd27592b2ca9796e6e21`
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 8	S19	`b191f54a287803350d71d1a5dfbec58f8a5e8b122f9d7279f20d7bd5001d3976`
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 9	S19	`037d15548ac0259ab6a406bb0b7a98c856b1cf38b0a5a733af9b1f136abc53cb`
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 10	S19	`4f3ce79e5586a4997c2885ee99314104a75720ea8a69b12e92b177462bb1d2ff`
J. Lawrence Cook 1930 arrangement — page 11	S19	`548b002986e02803518ee00f2fc0978fd27250de4cc03982ec14c233ad1d290c`
Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong (Wikimedia Commons MP3)	S14	`69ba59d6fda3a2da27f458f22b58593a3afbefd0744347825b2aff24f7fe33e0`
United States Air Force Band — The St. Louis Blues March (1994 MP3)	S20	`a80ecebc85155097c7d6e08c4520373d7f7a3379dab4464d71a7ea0dc407e4a0`
The Falconaires — St. Louis Blues (1996 MP3)	S21	`92c4c498a92b08dc46d9dfa317ac0bdf7ae582fab5f50ee6fd647e09e5927acc`
US Air Force Band of Mid-America — St. Louis Blues March (MP3)	S23	`e57e500bea9c1eedbfdd2fb2879aed657bbab5c94aa83911210da499d0797f90`
Victor Military Band — Joe Turner blues medley including St. Louis blues (1916, LOC MP3)	S28	`979f383efedf3c3981300ea24e869e321688c4d0e0dd89a6b78712114d6fc80c`
Handy’s Memphis Blues Band — St. Louis Blues (1922, 30-second LOC excerpt)	S30	`b33238fb3abd17919f71796a605133d267414ecaef248eb7c2b3029363a6651f`

Sources

S1. Gaylord Music Library, Washington University in St. Louis: The Saint Louis blues (b10377633)

live page · source download

Retrieved: 2026-10-10

Rights: Public Domain Mark 1.0

Attribution: Gaylord Music Library, Washington University in St. Louis

St. Louis Blues

Scores

Pace & Handy 1914 Memphis issue — apparent first edition

Pace & Handy issue

Handy Bros. scenic-cover issue

Paul Whiteman promotional issue

Handy Bros. revised edition

Rudy Vallée promotional edition

Transcriptions

St. Louis Blues — Pace & Handy 1914 Memphis edition

St. Louis Blues — transcription of the Handy Bros. ukulele edition

Arrangements and transcriptions

St. Louis Blues for piano (1928)

St. Louis Blues (1930)

Creative Commons adaptations

St. Louis Blues for four recorders (2016)

Synthesized performance of the four-recorder arrangement (2020-11-05)

Listen

Hear other recordings

Watch a performance

W. C. Handy performs St. Louis Blues on The Ed Sullivan Show

Marion Harris — St. Louis Blues (1920)

Movies

St. Louis Blues (1929)

Flirty Birdy (1945)

St. Louis Blues (1958)

W. C. Handy (1967)

Books

Father of the Blues: An Autobiography (1941)

Albums

Father of the Blues: A Musical Autobiography (1953; 1980 reissue)

Research record

Documented facts

Reviewed public-domain recordings

Rights note

Files

Sources

S1. Gaylord Music Library, Washington University in St. Louis: The Saint Louis blues (b10377633)

S2. Internet Archive: St. Louis Blues revised edition (printing date unverified)

S3. Wikimedia Commons file record for the revised score (cataloged as 1914)

S4. IMSLP #716402: St. Louis Blues complete score

S5. IMSLP #957518: St. Louis Blues for piano, arranged by Rube Bloom

S6. IMSLP #619130 and #619131: St. Louis Blues for four recorders, arranged by David Edward Kemp

S7. IMSLP #656239: synthesized performance of David Kemp’s four-recorder arrangement

S8. Duke University Libraries: Saint Louis blues (Historic American Sheet Music A-1311)

S9. Brown University Library: The St. Louis blues (African American Sheet Music, bdr:18423)

S10. Library of Congress: St. Louis blues (jukebox-41556)

S11. Library of Congress: National Jukebox rights and access

S12. Library of Congress: St. Louis blues — Ted Lewis Jazz Band (jukebox-669595)

S13. Internet Archive: Bessie Smith — St. Louis Blues (1925), Niven Jazz Collection transfer

S14. Wikimedia Commons: Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong — The St. Louis Blues (1925)

S15. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: St. Louis Blues; Cold in Hand Blues

S16. The Ed Sullivan Show: W. C. Handy — St. Louis Blues

S17. The78Prof: Marion Harris — St. Louis Blues (1920)

S18. Wikipedia: Saint Louis Blues (song)

S19. Wikimedia Commons: St. Louis Blues, arranged by J. Lawrence Cook (1930)

S20. US Air Force Public Domain Music: The St. Louis Blues March — United States Air Force Band (1994)

S21. US Air Force Public Domain Music: St. Louis Blues — The Falconaires (1996)

S22. US Department of Defense: St. Louis Blues March — United States Air Force Band of Mid-America

S23. Wikimedia Commons: St. Louis Blues March — United States Air Force Band of Mid-America

S24. US Copyright Office: Catalog of Copyright Entries, Musical Compositions, July–December 1914

S25. Project Gutenberg eBook 10249: The St. Louis Blues — Ferera and Paaluhi

S26. UCSB Library DAHR: St. Louis blues — Jimmy Joy and St. Anthony Hotel Orchestra

S27. UCSB Library: 1925 recordings entering the public domain on January 1, 2026

S28. Library of Congress: Joe Turner blues medley — Victor Military Band (jukebox-19795)

S29. Library of Congress: National Jukebox Data Package

S30. Library of Congress: Listen to Registry Titles — Handy’s Memphis Blues Band (1922)

S31. Library of Congress: St. Louis Blues — Handy’s Memphis Blues Band (1922), Registry essay by David Freeland

S32. UCSB-hosted Black Swan discography: catalog 2053, matrix 970 take 2

S33. U.S. Copyright Office: Classics Protection and Access Act — recording terms

S34. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville: Rivers Project Music Collection — Ole Miss Rag

S35. James J. Fuld: The Book of World-Famous Music, 3rd edition — St. Louis Blues entry

S36. American Blues Scene: Behind the Keys — Finding the Father of the Blues

S37. Library of Congress: St. Louis blues (1929)

S38. Wikimedia Commons: St. Louis Blues (1929 film)

S39. AFI Catalog: St. Louis Blues (1958)

S40. YouTube: St. Louis Blues (1958) — Silver Shadows Cinema

S41. Internet Animation Database: Flirty Birdy

S42. Library of Congress: Motion Picture Copyright Descriptions Collection — Flirty Birdy

S43. YouTube: Tom and Jerry — Flirty Birdy (1945), Part 1