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“The Best Notes Made the Most Votes”: W. C. Handy, E. H. Crump, and Black Music as Politics

“The Best Notes Made the Most Votes”: W. C. Handy, E. H. Crump, and Black Music as Politics Essay .................... "The Best Notes Made the Most Votes" W. C. Handy, E. H. Crump, and Black Music as Politics by Mark A. Johnson W. C. Handy on the 1909 Memphis mayoral campaign: "Beale Street was expected to cast a lot of votes, and it was squarely up to us to get them." W. C. Handy, The Memphis Blues, Theron C. Bennet Co., 1912, courtesy of the Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library & Information Center. n 1909, three white politicians--Edward H. Crump, Joseph J. Williams, and Walter W. Talbert--vied to become the next mayor of Memphis. Each of the candidates utilized traditional campaign tactics to win the office, such as speeches, rallies, advertisements, and posters. In a common move among southern office-seekers, they also employed black musicians to campaign on their behalf. As African American musician and bandleader William Christopher Handy explained, "[I]n Memphis as in Clarksdale it was known to politicians that the best notes made the most votes, and there came a time when we were called upon to do our bit for good government." The 1909 Memphis mayoral election provides a particularly compelling example of a common relationship between white politicians and http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Southern Cultures University of North Carolina Press

“The Best Notes Made the Most Votes”: W. C. Handy, E. H. Crump, and Black Music as Politics

Johnson, Mark A.
Southern Cultures , Volume 20 (2) – May 11, 2014
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Publisher
University of North Carolina Press
Copyright
Copyright © Center for the Study of the American South.
ISSN
1534-1488
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Abstract

Essay .................... "The Best Notes Made the Most Votes" W. C. Handy, E. H. Crump, and Black Music as Politics by Mark A. Johnson W. C. Handy on the 1909 Memphis mayoral campaign: "Beale Street was expected to cast a lot of votes, and it was squarely up to us to get them." W. C. Handy, The Memphis Blues, Theron C. Bennet Co., 1912, courtesy of the Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library & Information Center. n 1909, three white politicians--Edward H. Crump, Joseph J. Williams, and Walter W. Talbert--vied to become the next mayor of Memphis. Each of the candidates utilized traditional campaign tactics to win the office, such as speeches, rallies, advertisements, and posters. In a common move among southern office-seekers, they also employed black musicians to campaign on their behalf. As African American musician and bandleader William Christopher Handy explained, "[I]n Memphis as in Clarksdale it was known to politicians that the best notes made the most votes, and there came a time when we were called upon to do our bit for good government." The 1909 Memphis mayoral election provides a particularly compelling example of a common relationship between white politicians and

Journal

Southern Cultures – University of North Carolina Press

Published: May 11, 2014

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