How Did Deford Bailey Influence Early Country Music

The Magical musician and Harmonica Wizard: Deford Bailey

Deford Bailey was a musical genius who became prominent in the blues and country music in the early 1900s, overcoming racial discrimination. He became a rock star at playing several instruments including Harp and harmonica. He was one of the originators of Grand Ole Opry musical concert in Nashville where he became the most important member of the concert. He had unique music talents allowing him to participate any genre of music and play any instruments that he would touch. Wolfe stressed in his book, Black Start in Early Country Music, that “They also knew that he was the most influential harmonica player in blues and country music, that he was the most popular figures in the first fifteen years of America’s longest running show, Grand Ole Opry”( Wolfe 2). As you can imagine, Bailey devoted his

He spent years to actually correct it and come up the exact musical sound that resembles that train sound. Bailey mentioned that how it took him seventeen years to master the sound of the train. “I worked on my train for years, getting that train down right. I caught that train down just like I wanted in a matter of time. I got the engine part. Then I had to make the whistle. It was about, I expect, seventeen years to get that whistle”, Samuel says (Floyd 35). As you can see he was really patient and he waited until he mastered the sound. It also took him years him to come up each sound in different time. He said that he learned the sound of the engine first and then he started to work on the other parts of the train. He wanted to make right every single sound that the train has, so he could fully imitate a train that is moving on its track. He did not actually record his train songs like “Pan American Blues” until he made sure that he manipulated the sound as he wanted. It shows how he was willing to become a music, which he finally