W. C. Handy first published the song “St. Louis Blues” in 1914, according to the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. He had been burned by selling the rights to the hit “Memphis Blues” two years earlier to the printer for $50. Another source, the Tennessee State Museum, stated that Handy sold the rights for $100. In any case, he learned his lesson from his experience. And, when he penned the song inspired in part by his time in St. Louis, he made sure to hold on to the rights.
As he wrote the song, Handy remembered a woman he had encountered while he was a struggling musician in St. Louis, according to American Songwriter. She was suffering from a broken heart, and her lament over her romantic woes inspired the line “My man’s got a heart like a rock cast in de sea.” “St. Louis Blues” tells the story of one woman’s anguish over losing her man to another woman. Handy created this song in 1914, but it took more than a decade for it to make it to the big screen.
