448 DeFord Bailey (1899-1982) “Pan American Blues” 1927

“One of the biggest stars of the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville’s iconic showcase of country music, was a 4-foot-11 black harmonica player named DeFord Bailey…But when Bailey traveled with the Opry in the South, the rules of Jim Crow still applied. Opry favorite Uncle Dave Macon sometimes claimed Bailey was his valet so that the harp star could stay in a hotel instead of sleeping in a car” (American History, 2007). 

DeFord Bailey “Pan American Blues”