DeFord Bailey - A LEGEND LOST



2002 Nashville Public Television, Inc.
http://www.pbs.org/deford/


Another one of those times where while scanning channels I caught the tail end of a program.
In this particular case it was the very end. What caught my attention, outside of the fine harmonica being played,
was the obit-like graphic that appeared on the screen just before the credits rolled.

I can't remember the exact text, but it read something like this:

DeFord Bailey is the only founding member of the Grand Ole Opry that, even today,
has not been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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OK.
Time to put on the rumpled raincoat, assume Columbo mode and find out who this guy is why he's being slighted by the Country Music community.

First stop is the PBS.org site for the telecast and find out the next air date for my local station.

"This program is not airing on this channel during the next two weeks"

Fabulous!

So I do the next best thing and start reading through the PBS.org site.
From the homepage:

DeFord Bailey was the most influential harmonica player in
the first half of th 20th century. Despite such acclaim,
DeFord died quietly without recognition of
his place in American music history.

Not another one!

One of the things that makes his situation even more perplexing:
DeFord was the only African American in his day to perform regularly and on an equal basis with white performers, and before white audiences, in Dixie and elsewhere.
http://www.pbs.org/deford...opry3.html

Reading through his bio, along with his accomplishments, there's a connection to Jimi Hendrix:
DeFord Junior often appeared on "Night Train," a syndicated television show that featured local soul music. While working on the show, DeFord Junior played with another young guitarist who would shortly leave Nashville for the west coast. His name was Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was close to the Bailey family, often eating and visiting with DeFord Senior at family get-togethers.
http://www.pbs.org/deford...opry2.html
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With the Hendrix connection discovered, my interest at this point is piqued even further.

Along with more info on DeFord himself, is an historic scenario that not only has a negative impact on DeFord Bailey's career but is also the basis for the creation of the second U.S. music licensing organization, BMI (ASCAP being the first).:

Also affecting DeFord's appearances on the show was a licensing issue with ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers), which required venues to pay fees for the use of copyrighted music. ASCAP's contract with radio was coming up for renewal in 1940, and in the process ASCAP was attempting to double its usage fees. Radio networks were furious and were trying to boycott all songs copyrighted by ASCAP. DeFord was hit hard by the ban because most of his repertoire was copyrighted by ASCAP.

To counter the loss of ASCAP material, radio broadcasters, including those responsible for the Opry, created a new organization called BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) and began creating a catalog of music designed primarily for radio. Besides countering ASCAP, another reason the Opry may have been insistent on creating and licensing new songs to BMI was because one of the original six hundred stockholders in BMI was WSM's Edwin Craig. He made it clear that performers on his station were expected to do their part by creating new songs that could be copyrighted and licensed through BMI.

Hurt, puzzled, and offended by the Opry's insistence that he now create new material, DeFord continued to perform his old tunes. By the end of July, the boycott was over and NBC signed an agreement with ASCAP. Things returned to the way they were, with one exception. After May 24, 1941, DeFord's name no longer appeared on the show's line-up. He had been let go.

http://www.pbs.org/deford...opry4.html
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In what would seem like your typically tragic story, despite his historic musical accomplishments, Deford's journey finds him shining shoes:

Once he left the Opry, DeFord took up shining shoes full time. The experience was traumatic but it was also a watershed in his life.

His first shop was in the back room of his house on 13th Avenue South, just a few blocks from the Ryman stage, where the Opry continued to play every Saturday night for years to come. Because of his radio fame, white customers would seek him out, no matter where his shop was located. He welcomed them on an equal basis with his black customers, all sitting side by side and waiting their turns.

Soon DeFord had more business than he could handle. He moved his shop several times and had an elaborate setup, including nine chairs and as many employees on 12th Avenue South. The only sign he had outside his shop simply displayed the price of a shoeshine, but his customers could always find him.
http://www.pbs.org/deford...topry.html
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There is a gulf of Bibilical proportions between the amount of influence American black music has had on country & western and the number of black performers actually involved in country. One of the few heroes in what is sadly not a fable is this harmonica player, a victim of infantile paralysis who had to struggle with his physical handicaps as well as racism. The old-time music performer, stooped with a deformed chest, less than five feet tall and weighing under 100 pounds, was for a time a familiar act at the Grand Ole Opry. That is, until a tiff with Opry honcho George Hay led to his dismissal. After that, the only job he could get in country music in Nashville was as a shoeshine man, in itself a step below the often joked about official way of summoning a country songwriter in that town: "waiter!"

www.allmusic.com
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...The Legendary DeFord Bailey: Country Music's First Black Star

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The MUSIC section of the PBS.org site gives a detailed background on his playing style along with examples of his most popular tunes.
At least one of the audio files has DeFord Bailey explaining his playing technique.
http://www.pbs.org/deford...index.html


Do yourself a favor and check out the story of a relatively unknown legend.




"If I don't blow my harp, I hurt.
God put that on me to make me play.
He wanted me to use my talent"
~DeFord Bailey

Born: December 14, 1899
Died: July 2, 1982 (83 years old)
Last Opry appearance - 1982


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

Ah man, good stuff.

This looks like a good one. Be back with comments.

Trickology said:

Thanks.
Had no clue about this guy until a few days ago.

Looking forward to your comments.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

5 editions of Michael Jackson in Court threads...

Interesting statement.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

this is just pitiful, man...and to think, there's plenty more people in the same predicament as he was that'll never be commended or recognized for what they've done.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

And that's the very reason for my post about him.
I didn't know he existed until a few days ago.

Maybe the few folks that read this will start a bit of a rumble about his predicament.
Especially the Country Music buffs.

I know when I visit my brother in Nashville, i'm gonna ask somebody something.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

Great thread, TA! I'm gonna look DeFord up further.....

.
[Edited 3/21/05 1:27am]

paligap said:

Thanks, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
From the little that i've heard, the cat can blow!

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

His grandson, Carlos Deford Bailey, was my shoe shine guy from 1998-2004. Carlos and family have been trying to get Deford Bailey in the Hall of Fame every since I have known Carlos. Carlos always is country music singer.

SyrHyJynx said:

Good for them.

There's a possibility of someone doing an article on Deford Bailey in one of the current Country Music publications.

I understand that Carlos is a classically trained pianist.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

theAudience said:

That I did not know about Carlos. That's cool!!!