DeFord Bailey

DeFord Bailey
Bailey in the 1970s
Background information
Born	(1899-12-14)December 14, 1899 Smith County, Tennessee
Died	July 2, 1982(1982-07-02) (aged 82) Nashville, Tennessee
Genres	Country, Blues
Instruments	Harmonica, Guitar,Banjo
Years active	1920s–1941
Labels	Victor, Bluebird, RCA

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.

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

His first radio appearance (as documented in radio program schedules published in newspapers) was on June 19, 1926, on Nashville's WSM. 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.’” "Pan American Blues" was the first recording of a harmonica blues solo.

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, and in 1928 he recorded eight sides for Victor in Nashville, 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. In addition to his well-known harmonica, Bailey also played the guitar, bones, and banjo.