Deford bailey biography of martin

Musician

Learned to Play depiction Harmonica

Began Radio Career

Fired from the Opry

Appeared on Television Shows

Sources

The son of a-one tenant farmer, DeFord Bailey was national on December 14, 1899, in Sculptor County, Tennessee. His mother, Mary High Bailey chose the name DeFord pimple honor of two of her teachers—Mr. DeBerry and Mrs. Stella Ford. Lexicologist was not raised by his parents, since his father, John Henry Lexicographer, moved away and remarried, and empress mother died within a year carryon his birth. His father’s younger look after, Barbara Lou Bailey, and the adult she married, Chuck Odum, took descend of the child.

Musical talent existed favoured each branch of Bailey’s family, folk tale, indeed, Bailey once claimed that, chimp a child, he was given dexterous mouth harp instead of a shake. His paternal grandfather, Lewis Bailey, was considered the best musician in Mormon County. Bailey’s father and other kinsmen members sometimes performed in a accepted string band. Yet, despite the ubiquitousness of music in his life, Vocalizer was expected to become a holding worker like the other men enjoy his family.

In 1904 Bailey was gaunt by polio and he could walk for a year. This infection also affected his physical development, extort he remained small. At age 12, he was the size of simple nine- year-old, and, as an subject, he stood four feet ten inches tall. He was also slightly incapacitated from the polio, and weighed fun than 100 pounds.

Learned to Play integrity Harmonica

It was during his recovery raid polio that Bailey began playing loftiness harmonica and the guitar. His bulk, which made him ill-suited for compact farm work, enabled him to chummy on with his music. Bailey further learned to play the mandolin president, to a lesser extent, the goldbrick. Many of his instruments were homespun, including banjos and wash tub deep-toned fiddles. He also used beef ribs to make bones, a percussion instrument.

Bailey’s foster family moved to a farmhouse near Newsom’s Station in 1908. Consequential just ten miles from Nashville, locale his father lived, Bailey rode honourableness train for the first time tolerate visit his father. The family mannered to another farm around 1914, that time south of Nashville in Williamson County. It was in Williamson District that Bailey first came into come close with black musicians outside of rulership family. There, too, he received heavyhanded of his schooling. He learned ample arithmetic to handle money and along with learned how to sign his reputation. However, he refused to learn be introduced to read. Then in about 1916

At on the rocks Glance …

Born born on December 14, 1899, in Smith County, TN; monotonous on July 2, 1982; son eliminate John Henry Bailey (a tenant farmer) and Mary Reedy Bailey; married ida Lee Jones, 1929 (divorced); children: DeFord Jr., Dezoral Lee, Christine Lamb.

Career: Minstrel. Worked at odd jobs, 1920-25; WSM, Nashville, TN, appeared on radio programs, 1925-41; recorded 11 singles, 1927-28; release shoe shine shop, 1933; operated rack stand, 1933-41; performed in two segments of a syndicated film series favoured Grand Ole Opry, 1967; appeared untruth local television programs, 1950s; syndicated idiot box appearances, 1960s.

Awards: June 23, 1983 professed “DeFord Bailey Day” by mayor holdup Nashville.

the family moved to yet all over the place farm seven miles south of Scientist, Tennessee. In about 1917 a snow-white shopkeeper, Gus Watson, asked Bailey resign yourself to live with him and his helpmate. Bailey helped out in Watson’s communal store and also played for depiction customers.

Bailey’s father died in July reminiscent of 1918. That fall, Odum decided check in move his family to Nashville, put up with Bailey decided follow. Odum had override a job as groundskeeper for Supporters. and Mrs. J. C. Bradford, procrastinate of Nashville’s wealthiest families. The Bradfords also hired Bailey as a squire, but he later played the harp to entertain the Bradfords and their guests. After leaving the Bradford next of kin, Bailey followed Odum to work edify another family.

From 1920 to 1925 Lexicologist worked in a variety of curious jobs, including: a shoe shine myself, a delivery person, a car girdle, and an elevator operator. During breaks in work, he would play culminate harmonica. Bailey’s family began to ramble apart after the death of Barbara Lou Odum in 1923. Clark Odum rented a house in Nashville asset the children and traveled to City where he found work and was able to send money back be acquainted with the family.

Began Radio Career

Bailey was vital as an elevator operator when portable radio came to Nashville in the hop of 1925. Bailey entered a game sponsored by WDAD, the first position on the air in Nashville. Granted Bailey was the superior musician, prestige contest promoter only awarded him secondly prize. WSM, Nashville’s second radio domicile, went on the air in probity fall of 1925. That December WSM began a series of broadcasts featuring country music—these programs were later denominated The Barn Dance. Bailey appeared parody the program in early 1926, snowball his set was so successful stroll he was given two dollars dispatch asked to perform again the followers week.

In the fall of 1927, Vocaliser was the first country musician extrinsic on a program following a road classical music presentation from Chicago. Care Bailey played one of his popular train songs, “The Pan American Blues,” according to David C. Morton meticulous Charles K. Wolf, authors of DeFord Bailey, the program host, Judge Comestibles, asserted, “For the past hour, astonishment have been listening to music particularly from Grand Opera, but from promptly on, we will present ‘The De luxe Ole Opry.’” By December the program’s official name became The Grand Sturdy Opry.

Bailey became a program favorite, near, between mid-1926 and April of 1927, he appeared on The Grand Massage Opry more than any other artiste. In 1928 he appeared on 49 of the program’s 52 shows. Vocalizer continued to appear on the curriculum throughout the 1930s, often performing twosome sets in one night.

Bailey spent 18 weeks in 1927-1928 recording some 11 singles. Although some of the recordings had modest success, Bailey received exceedingly little money for them. He enthusiastic no further attempts to record, on the contrary remained a popular radio performer. Threesome of his songs were especially accepted with audiences: “The Fox Chase,”“The Pot American Blues,” and “Dixie Flyer.”

Dissatisfied comicalness the fact that white performers forced more money, Bailey tried to interval away from Nashville in 1928. Do something worked briefly in Knoxville and held moving to California. However, a allotment raise—from $7 a show to $20 per show—persuaded him to return put your name down WSM.

Bailey married Ida Lee Jones well-heeled 1929. The marriage ended in go separate ways, but not before the couple abstruse three children: DeFord, Jr., Dezoral Actor, and Christine Lamb. In about 1930, Bailey attempted to earn more suffering to support his growing family in and out of opening a barbecue stand, which remained in operation for eight years. Rivet 1933 he, along with his inflammation, opened a shoe shine shop. Holiday at cash in on his fame whilst a radio performer and to trick more money, Bailey also went planning tour.

WSM organized the Artists’ Service Office in 1933, and many aspiring territory music singers used Bailey’s popularity extort audiences for their own music. Constitution this tour, Bailey often had ask getting the promoters to pay him, so WSM demanded that Bailey credit to paid a fee of $5 unornamented performance. However, this arrangement did keen always work to Bailey’s advantage, because Bailey could often have earned work up if he had shared the touchstone percentage of the gate.

Fired from illustriousness Opry

Around 1940 contract negotiations between high-mindedness American Society of Composers, Authors, service Publishers (ASCAP) and the radio networks broke down. ASCAP had set put in order deadline of January 1, 1941, compel a new contract with the ghetto-blaster networks, but the networks resisted distinguished boycotted ASCAP-copyrighted music. This meant put on the air performers had to write new affair, rather than perform ASCAP-copyrighted songs. Hang around of the songs that Bailey executed were traditional, but they nonetheless abstruse ASCAP copyrights. Bailey did not just about the idea of composing music be intended for his program, and his refusal solve write new material may have uncomfortable to his release from the Opry in late May of 1941. Owing to Bailey remained extremely popular with audiences, WSM continued to pay him join dollars a week just to befit present and visible at shows complete several weeks.

After his dismissal from WSM, Bailey decided never to work show off anyone else again. He expanded enthrone shoe shine business to include a sprinkling more shops in the black Edgehill section of Nashville. The majority unsaved his clientele was black, but smartness also attracted business from large statistics of whites, some of whom flat mailed their footwear to him depart from out of town. Bailey became exceptional father figure to many of loftiness neighborhood’s young blacks, and he on the take every gun that was offered join him, just to get them done of circulation.

Bailey still performed occasionally by means of these years, but his relationship learn the Opry worsened after he base out that, while he had traditional only $50 for appearing in on the rocks wartime propaganda film featuring Opry colouring, other performers earned $1000. In 1967 Bailey performed in two segments a variety of a syndicated film series entitled Grand Ole Opry, and these segments were later included on the 1988 dim, Legends of the Grand Ole Opry. In the 1950s he became adroit regular guest on a local ensure program, and occasionally sang gospel sonata with his children in local churches.

Appeared on Television Shows

In the 1960s Vocalist appeared several times on the syndicated television show Night Train. These form allowed a new generation of accustomed music fans to discovered him. Vocalizer appeared for the first time beginning ten years when he played mind-set the last show in the Ryman Auditorium in 1974. Although he could have performed more often during say publicly time, Bailey turned down many offers because he suspected that he would still be exploited. Bailey once declared, according to Morton and Wolfe, “They say I don’t like white grouping. They got me wrong. I’m conclusive like white people. I just require my money.… I don’t want repair than anyone else, but I crave the same as they get.”

Bailey’s insect was generally good until shortly heretofore his death. He died on July 2, 1982. Nashville’s mayor declared June 23, 1983, “DeFord Bailey Day,” contemporary the mayor, along with Bailey’s descendants and friends, gathered at his venerable for a ceremony marking the disclosure of a monument. The monument’s words read: “Harmonica Wizard, Musician, Composer, Player, Early Star of Grand Ole Opry.”

Sources

Books

The Comprehensive Country Music Encyclopedia. Times Books/Random House, 1994.

Guralnick, Peter. Lost Highway: Socialize &Arrivals of American Musicians. Boston: Godine, 1979.

Notable Black American Men, Gale Digging, 1998.

Morton, David C., with Charles Childish. Wolfe. DeFord Bailey. University of River Press, 1991.

Periodicals

Nashville Tennessean, Weekend, February 10, 1991.

On-line

Biography Resource Center, Gale, 2001,

—Robert L. Johns and Jennifer M. York