Steamboats were a popular place for entertainment throughout the years that they ruled America’s rivers.

From the raucous showboats of the 1800s to the floating USO nightclubs of the World War II era, one of the best options for live music was on the water. The Belle of Louisville (and the Mary M. Miller) were no exception. Both of our riverboats once hosted legendary acts who made their mark on music history.

The Idlewild and W.C. Handy 

Six years before the Idlewild finally reached her first home in Memphis, Tennessee, the “Father of the Blues,” W.C. Handy, relocated to the city with his band.

Born in 1873 to a family who considered musical instruments “tools of the devil,” William Christopher Handy secretly taught himself music. He started a small string orchestra as a hobby and eventually made his way to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, where he played the cornet. Over the years and playing with various bands, he refined his signature style incorporating Black folk music that eventually became foundational to the genre that changed music forever: the blues.

The Idlewild hosted Handy’s band onboard their excursions, and a 1919 photograph of the “Idlewild Mascot” (Captain John Benton Wyckof’s two-year-old-son) shows a toddler wearing an Idlewild hat and smiling from his position inside a tuba. The tuba player is identified as a member of W.C. Handy’s band. The hat in the photograph is now on display in the Mayor Andrew Broaddus’s gift shop.

The Grand Ole Opry On the Idlewild 

Writers and journalists covering the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcast from the Idlewild’s ballroom.

The Idlewild hosted an exciting program on June 22, 1946: a live broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry Radio Show.

By this point, the Idlewild had been sold and no longer called Memphis (or, really, anywhere) home. After stints on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers serving as a floating USO nightclub for World War II soldiers, the steamboat made its way to Nashville, Tennessee.

As part of a weeklong promotional tour for the Opry, writers and journalists flocked onboard for the highlight of the trip, an excursion cruise on the Idlewild featuring a live performance of the Grand Ole Opry radio show. Legendary acts such as Minnie Pearl, Red Foley and the Oak Ridge Quartet played onboard. Another featured performer has charmed the hearts of music fans across the world in our current century: the Idlewild’s calliope.

The Missouri River Queen and Kansas City Jazz

Saxophonist Ahmad Aladeen performing onboard the Missouri River Queen in the early 1990s.

Before she was the Mary M. Miller, our smaller riverboat was the Missouri River Queen. She called Kansas City, Missouri home.

Kansas City is best known for the music that emerged from its Jazz District in the 1930s, featuring icons like Charlie Parker. However, the jazz tradition in Kansas City continued even after its most famous era. In the 1990s, the Missouri River Queen highlighted some of the most talented jazz performers in the city, including Ahmad Aladeen, who learned from the same teacher as Charlie Parker. Lonnie and Ronnie McFadden, twins famous for their jazz performances infused with tap dancing, also performed onboard.

Legendary Ladies

We are proud of our long and storied history, and for the role that our boats have played in hosting some of the most honored performers in multiple genres across the country and across decades. What memories do you have of music on Belle of Louisville Riverboats?