The guitar tab (chords and melody) for “St. Louis Blues” is available for download as a PDF.

St. Louis Blues

“St. Louis Blues” was written by W. C. Handy in 1914 and published in 1914–1915, becoming one of the first blues compositions to achieve international popularity. Blending 12-bar blues with tango and habanera rhythms, it helped formalize blues as a written, publishable genre during the early jazz era.

The song became a standard through recordings by Bessie Smith (with Louis Armstrong, 1925), Louis Armstrong, and later jazz and blues artists across generations. Its flexible form invited improvisation, making it a cornerstone for early jazz ensembles and soloists alike.

Video

In the video below, I perform the piece as transcribed.

Guitar Tab

The sheet music below is a lead sheet containing the chords and melody of the piece.

Download “St Louis Blues” (2 pages) as a PDF

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