Beale Street, the heady stretch of Memphis juke joints that spawned the blues at the turn of the century, hosts the relocated museum home of its undisputed craftsman and father, W C Handy.
Profoundly inspired by the hymns in his father's church and the Negro spirituals of dirt-poor black labourers on the shores of the Tennessee River, Handy cultivated the plaintive and invigorating sound that he himself described as "the sound of a sinner on revival day."
It's hard to believe that the small wooden shotgun shack that was home to Handy, his wife and six children was also the birthplace of the most widespread musical tradition of the early 20th century. The tour provides a fascinating insight into the life and passions of this extraordinary man; from humble beginnings through his striving for recognition in the city that was to become, thanks to his efforts, the birthplace of the blues.