These are the first recordings made by W.C. Handy. He was forty-three years old at the time that these records were made in 1917. Handy performs Livery Stable Blues which is a cover version of the Original Dixieland Jass Band's big hit record that was recorded just seven months earlier and is generally considered to have been the first Jazz record. Handy's was probably the second African-American to make jazz records. Wilbur Sweatman and his Jass Band recorded three records for the Pathe label in April of 1917.