St. Louis Blues

At the turn of the century in Memphis, a young boy named W.C. Handy (Billy Preston) is caught with a trumpet he bought by his Aunt Hagar (Pearl Bailey). His father, the Reverend Charles Handy (Juano Hernandez) rejects all music other than church hymns as songs of Satan, and destroys the trumpet upon discovery. Later, as a grown man, W.C. Handy (Nat 'King' Cole) is offered a teaching job his family approves of, but volunteers instead to write music for a local political campaign, drawing the attention of singer Gogo Germaine (Eartha Kitt) and nightclub owner Blade (Cab Calloway). While Germaine encourages Handy to continue writing popular music, his girlfriend Elizabeth (Ruby Dee) and father continue to discourage his dreams of pursuing a career as a jazz composer. After going blind and subsequently abandoning his jazz career, Handy returns to performing in his church and composing hymns, finally winning the approval of his father. His sight restored, Handy is still anguished by the loss of jazz in his life, and runs away from home to continue writing the music he loves away from the disapproval of his family. Gogo Germaine, now a popular singer in New York, stops by Handy's home to visit and instead encounters Elizabeth. She challenges Elizabeth on her narrow-minded views on jazz, and invites her and Handy's family to New York to hear his jazz music played in a concert hall. Upon hearing his jazz, Reverend Handy changes his mind, and finally embraces Handy completely, allowing him to both be loved by his family and able to pursue his composing career.