{"id":11964,"date":"2019-09-06T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2019-09-06T13:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.wnpt.org\/mediaupdate\/?p=11964"},"modified":"2019-09-05T22:18:01","modified_gmt":"2019-09-06T03:18:01","slug":"deford-bailey-doc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.wnpt.org\/mediaupdate\/2019\/09\/06\/deford-bailey-doc\/","title":{"rendered":"NPT’s ‘DeFord Bailey: A Legend Lost’ documentary returns Sept. 19"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Harmonica virtuoso and early Grand Ole Opry star DeFord Bailey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DeFord Bailey: A Legend Lost,<\/strong> NPT\u2019s Emmy-winning original production about the pioneering African American harmonica virtuoso, returns to television on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 8 p.m.<\/strong> and will also be available to stream at wnpt.org\/video<\/a>. The half-hour documentary about the early star of the Grand Ole Opry features appearances by Bailey\u2019s three children and was narrated by R&B legend Lou Rawls.<\/p>\n

DeFord Bailey learned to play the harmonica while bedridden with polio at the age of three and became a stunning player of what he referred to as \u201cblack hillbilly music.\u201d He was a popular Opry star in the 1920s and \u201930s, when the medium of radio allowed him to overcome the racial strictures of the era. Bailey also toured, however, sharing the bill with rising country stars like Bill Monroe and Roy Acuff, who appreciated the crowds drawn by his name and musical prowess. Being on the road was difficult and dangerous for Bailey, especially in the South, where Jim Crow laws meant he could not eat, lodge or socialize with his fellow performers in public.<\/p>\n