caption death_date death_place years_active birth_place label background birth_date instrument genre image article_title name
bailey in the 1970s 2 july 1982 nashville , tennessee 1920s -- 1941 smith county , tennessee , united states victor , bluebird , rca solo_singer 14 december 1899 harmonica , guitar , banjo country , blues deford bailey.jpg deford bailey
 deford bailey
deford bailey

deford bailey -lrb- december 14 , 1899 -- july 2 , 1982 -rrb- was an american country music and blues star from the 1920s until 1941 .
bailey was both the first performer to be introduced as playing on the grand ole opry and also the first african-american performer on the show .
he played several instruments but is best known for his harmonica tunes .
