DeFord Bailey

African-American harmonica player, born December 14, 1899 in Smith County, Tennessee, USA, died July 2, 1982. Bailey first recorded for Columbia in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1927 (recordings that remain unissued), and then for Brunswick in New York the same year, and for Victor in Nashville, Tennesse, 1928. All his recordings are harmonica solos. He was the first African-American to perform on the country music show Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in 1927, and performed there regularly until 1941.