DeFord Bailey

DeFord Bailey
Bailey in the 1970s
Bailey in the 1970s
Background information
Born(1899-12-14)December 14, 1899
Smith County, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedJuly 2, 1982(1982-07-02) (aged 82)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.[1]
Genres
Instruments
Years active1920s–1941
Labels

DeFord Bailey Sr.[4] (December 14, 1899 – July 2, 1982)[5] was an American singer-songwriter and musician, who was considered the first African American country music and blues star. He started his career in the 1920s and was one of the first performers to be introduced on Nashville radio station WSM's Grand Ole Opry, and becoming alongside Uncle Dave Macon one of the programs most famous performers.[6] He was the first African-American performer to appear on the show, and the first performer to record his music in Nashville.[7] Bailey played several instruments in his career but is best known for playing the harmonica, often being referred to as a "harmonica wizard".

Bailey was born and raised in Tennessee, all his family played "black hillbilly" country and blue's music and he learned how to play the harmonica and mandolin while recuperating from polio as a young child.[7] He moved from New York to Nashville with relatives in his late teens and was a significant early contributor to Nashville's burgeoning music industry. Among the first generation of entertainers to perform live on the radio, his recorded compositions were well-known and popular.

Bailey toured and performed with Roy Acuff and many well-known country artists during the 1930s. But as a result of the 1941 royalties disagreement between Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) and American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), he was fired by WSM and stopped making his living as an entertainer. Afterwards, he supported himself and his family by opening a shoe shining company and renting out rooms in his home. He returned to sporadic public performances in 1974 when he was invited to participate in the Opry's first Old-Timers show and in 2005 was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

  1. ^ "Grand Ole Opry Legend DeFord Bailey, 82, Dead". JET. 62 (21): 53. August 2, 1982. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  2. ^ "Deford Bailey". Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  3. ^ "DeFord Bailey: A Legend Lost/Samples of DeFord's music". PBS. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference story was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wolfe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Deford Bailey". Country Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 10, 2021. In 1927, Hay spontaneously renamed the Barn Dance while introducing some of his down-home musicians on a WSM weekday evening broadcast following a classical music program. Countering the view that "there is no place in the classics for realism," Hay said, "[W]e will present nothing but realism. It will be down to earth for the 'earthy.'" As if to illustrate his point, Hay introduced Bailey, whose "Pan American Blues" recreated the whoosh of the L&N Railroad express train he had heard from his boyhood. In his introduction, Hay also said, "For the past hour, we have been listening to music largely from Grand Opera, but from now on, we will present 'The Grand Ole Opry.'" Thus Bailey and his musical cohorts helped to inspire the name of America's longest-running radio show.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Tennessean was invoked but never defined (see the help page).