The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum has reissued the long-out-of-print biography DeFord Bailey: A Black Star in Early Country Music by David C. Morton with Charles K. Wolfe. Published by the museum’s CMF Press and distributed in partnership with the University of Illinois Press, the updated and expanded book details the life and career of the Country Music Hall of Fame member, drawing upon numerous interviews conducted with Bailey by principal author David Morton.

Originally published in 1991, the reissued edition includes a new foreword by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dom Flemons, founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The new edition also includes 45 illustrations (several of which are new additions), and a complete recording session discography.

The book is now available for purchase in the museum store and on its website. Beginning June 13, the reissued edition will be distributed nationwide in bookstores and online outlets through a partnership with University of Illinois Press. The recently announced partnership involves releasing and distributing titles published under the museum’s longstanding publishing arm, CMF Press, including out of print historical books, as well as collaborating to co-publish new works on country music and related music styles.

DeFord Bailey

Known as the "Harmonica Wizard" for his virtuosity on the instrument, DeFord Bailey (1899-1982) was a founding member of the Grand Ole Opry and among its most popular early performers, touring with such well-known Opry acts as Roy Acuff, the Delmore Brothers and Bill Monroe. The meticulously researched biography chronicles Bailey’s triumphs and challenges, from his innovative musical contributions to the injustices he endured while touring under Jim Crow segregation. In the decades following his abrupt dismissal from the Opry, Bailey never stopped playing music, though he no longer made his living as a musician. Nevertheless, his influence endured, and his renditions of "Fox Chase," "Pan American Blues" and other tunes are still considered harmonica classics. Whether onstage or off, his life was, as the book’s co-author Wolfe noted, "a parable of integrity and survival."

Bailey was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Acknowledgment of his contributions continues to this day; Nashville’s Metropolitan Council recently approved an ordinance to rename a local street "DeFord Bailey Avenue" in the Edgehill neighborhood where he lived. A public ceremony to mark the renaming will take place in Nashville on May 20.

Book talk

David Morton, principal author of DeFord Bailey: A Black Star in Early Country Music, will give a book talk on Friday, July 28, at 11 a.m. in the museum’s Ford Theater. The talk is included with museum admission.

More resources

To learn more about Bailey, visit the museum’s award-winning Discover DeFord Bailey educational webpage and project, which includes videos, recordings, photos and more from his life and career, as well as beginning harmonica tutorials and other activities for families. More information on Bailey is also available on his Country Music Hall of Fame member page.