Grand Ole Opry apologizes to Deford Bailey
By Danielle Jackson
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — The Grand Ole Opry has been celebrating Black History Month honoring several African Americans who’ve contributed to the success of the country’s biggest music stage.
This week, they honored Deford Bailey—one of the earliest and most popular performers of the Grand Ole Opry.
“Deford Bailey was a great engineer of music,” said Lorenzo Washington, the curator, and founder of the Jefferson Street Sound Museum.
Washington sat down with WSMV’s Danielle Jackson reminiscing on Bailey’s musical contributions, his impact on the African American community, and his musical legacy.
Bailey spent nearly 15 years performing at the Grand Ole Opry. He was known as “The Harmonica Wizard’ for his famous train song, “Pan American Blues,” as well as having the unique ability to mimic a train whistle. Today, his instrument sits inside the museum on display.
“Deford Bailey Sr. played on Jefferson Street with a lot of the bands. Because of his time with country music, he started playing in different bands with black musicians that played blues, jazz, and R&B. All of the musicians and all of the artists loved having Deford Bailey play behind them. I mean they knew if they could get Deford they knew they could shake the crowd up,” said Washington.
“It was all about that train. You know everybody loved the way he played the sound of a train on his harmonica. It started from there and a lot of the country artists loved the way Deford played his harmonica,” Washington said.
Back in August of 2022, the Grand Ole Opry issued an apology to Deford Bailey after he was dismissed from a show in 1941.
The Opry played the video of the apology during the Friday night show.
“He was a musician that didn’t feel as though he was treated fairly by the Opry during his later years,” said Washington.
In the video, the Opry said the accounts of why that happened vary, but they say it’s clear this hurt Bailey, the Opry and others.
The Opry also released the following statement:
“Neither country music nor the Grand Ole would exist without the impact and influence of diverse artists and multiple cultures. But over the course of nearly 100 years, the Opry has at times been a part of a problem within country music suppressing the contributions of our diverse community.”
The video showcases interviews and musical selections and images of Bailey’s lifework.
Bailey’s legacy still lives on through his grandson Carlos Deford Bailey who performed on the same stage Friday where Bailey started his music career.
Washington said Bailey’s grandson, Carlos, shared with him that they’re planning to name a street in Edgehill after Bailey.
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