DeFord Bailey

DeFord Bailey (December 14, 1899 – July 2, 1982) was an American country music and blues star from the 1920s until 1941. He was the first performer to be introduced on the Grand Ole Opry and the first African-American performer on the show. He played several instruments but is best known for his harmonica tunes.

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

Career

A grandson of slaves,[5] Bailey was born near the Bellwood community in Smith County, Tennessee,[3][6] and learned to play the harmonica at the age of three[5][6] when he contracted polio (or, as it was called at the time, infantile paralysis).[6] He was confined to bed for a year, during which he began developing his distinctive style of playing.[7] In 1918, he moved to Nashville and performed locally as an amateur.[8]

Bailey's first radio appearance was on Fred Exum's Nashville's radio station WDAD in September 1925.[3][9] His first documented appearances, however, were in 1926 according to The Nashville Tennessean including WDAD on January 14[10] and WSM on June 19.[11] On December 10, 1927, he debuted his trademark song, "Pan American Blues" (named for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad's Pan-American), on a program then known as the WSM Barn Dance. At that time Barn Dance aired after NBC's classical music show, the Music Appreciation Hour. While introducing Bailey, WSM station manager and announcer George D. Hay exclaimed on-air, “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.’”[3] "Pan American Blues" was the first recording of a harmonica blues solo.[12]

Several records by Bailey were issued in 1927 and 1928, all of them harmonica solos. In 1927 he recorded for Brunswick Records in New York City,[13][14] and in 1928 he recorded eight sides[2] for Victor in Nashville,[13][14] three of which were issued on Victor, Bluebird and RCA. Emblematic of the ambiguity of Bailey's position as a recording artist is the fact that his arguably greatest recording, "John Henry", was released by RCA separately in both its "race" series and its "hillbilly" series.[15] In addition to his well-known harmonica, Bailey also played the guitar, bones, and banjo.[3][4]

Tennessee Historical Commission marker near Bailey's birthplace in Smith County

Bailey was a pioneer member of the WSM Grand Ole Opry and one of its most popular performers, appearing on the program from 1927 to 1941.[16] During this period he toured with major country stars, including Uncle Dave Macon, Bill Monroe, and Roy Acuff.[17] Like other black stars of his day traveling in the South and West, he faced difficulties in finding food and accommodations because of discriminatory Jim Crow laws.[18]

Bailey was fired by WSM in 1941 because of a licensing conflict between BMI and ASCAP, which prevented him from playing his best-known tunes on the radio.[19] This effectively ended his performance career, and he spent the rest of his life shining shoes and renting out rooms in his home to make a living. Though he continued to play the harp, he almost never performed publicly. One of his rare performances occurred in 1974, when he agreed to make one more appearance on the Opry.[20][21] This became the occasion for the Opry's first annual Old Timers' Show.[3]

He died on July 2, 1982, in Nashville,[2][22] and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery there.[1]

In 2005, Nashville Public Television produced the documentary DeFord Bailey: A Legend Lost.[23] The documentary was broadcast nationally through PBS. Bailey was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on November 15, 2005. The DeFord Bailey Tribute Garden at the George Washington Carver Food Park in Nashville was dedicated on June 27, 2007.[24] The Encyclopedia of Country Music called him "the most significant black country star before World War II." [25]

Discography
  • The Legendary DeFord Bailey (TFS, 1998)
  • Harmonica Genius: DeFord Bailey (Collection Gérard Herzhaft, 2011)

References
  1. Wolfe, Charles K. (December 25, 2009). "Deford Bailey (1899-1982)". The Tennessee Encyclopedia. University of Tennessee Press (originally published by the Tennessee Historical Society, 1998). Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  2. "Grand Ole Opry Legend DeFord Bailey, 82, Dead". JET. 62 (21): 53. August 2, 1982. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  3. "Deford Bailey". Country Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  4. "DeFord Bailey: A Legend Lost/Samples of DeFord's music". PBS. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  5. Johnston, Allen (March 1, 2011). "A Black Star In Early Country Music". BlackHistory.Com. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  6. Morton, David C.; Charles K. Wolfe (1993). DeFord Bailey: A Black Star in Early Country Music. University of Tennessee Press. p. 15.
  7. Deford Bailey: Legend Lost (Early Years), Nashville Public Television, 2002, retrieved 23 August 2010
  8. Morton, pp. 77, 181.
  9. Beck, Ken (March 8, 2018). "The 'Harmonica Wizard' - Bellwood's DeFord Bailey became a superstar on the mouth harp". The Wilson Post. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  10. "Radio By The Clock - Week's Programs - WDAD". The Nashville Tennessean  – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . January 10, 1926. p. 13. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  11. Morton, p. 47.
  12. Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 12. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  13. Tosches, Nick (1996). Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock 'n' Roll. Da Capo Press. p. 213.
  14. Oliver, Paul (2009). Barrelhouse Blues: Location Recording and the Early Traditions of the Blues. Basic Books. p. 97. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  15. Morton, page 58.
  16. CMA Press Release 2005 Hall of Fame, 29 August 2005, retrieved 23 August 2010
  17. Morris, Edward (May 1, 2002). "DeFord Bailey Documentary to Air May 7". CMT.Com. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  18. Oermann, Robert K. (2008). "The Harmonica Wizard (Chapter 30)". Behind the Grand Ole Opry Curtain: Tales of Romance and Tragedy. Hachette Digital. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  19. Morton, David C.; Charles K. Wolfe (1993). "Chapter 10, They Turned Me Loose to Root Hog or Die". Deford Bailey: A Black Star in Early Country Music. Oxford University Press. pp. 121–130.
  20. Horenstein, Harry. "DeFord Bailey (photo)". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  21. Carter, Walter; Hilman, Randy (July 3, 1982). "DeFord Bailey, Grand Ole Opry's first musician and first artist to record in Nashville, dies at 82: From the archives". Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  22. "DeFord Bailey (Timeline)". PBS. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  23. "DeFord Bailey: A Legend Lost". PBS. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  24. "DeFord Bailey honored with Tribute Garden". Earth Matters. 15 June 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  25. Rumble, John (2004). Paul Kingsbury (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music. Oxford University Press. p. 37. Retrieved November 10, 2011.

Sources
  • Komara, Edward (ed.) (2006), Encyclopedia of the Blues, Routledge
  • Morton, David C. & Wolfe, Charles K. (1993), Deford Bailey: A Black Star in Early Country Music. University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 0-87049-792-8.
  • Morton, David C. (1998), "DeFord Bailey," in The Encyclopedia of Country Music
  • PBS DeFord Bailey Documentary
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