W.C. Handy Festival Tribute to Edsel Holden
William Christopher “W.C”. Handy was “Father of the Blues”. The Festival in his honor came about as an idea birthed after a conversation between Dr. David Mussleman and Dr. Willie Ruff, making them the “Fathers of the Handy Festival”. However, it was Edsel Holden who became the Handy Festival’s “God-Father”.
About Dr. David Mussleman and the History of the Music Preservation Society, Inc. and the W.C. Handy Music Festival
n 2018, we lost one of the two men who are credited with the idea that became the W.C. Handy Music Festival. In tribute, Dr. Willie Ruff, Handy Festival co-creator, and Edsel Holden, original Music Preservation Society, Inc. board member, were asked to share their thoughts and memories about Dr. David Mussleman.