DeFord Bailey, Sr. (1899-1982), a harmonica player, became the first African American musician to perform on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 26, 1924. Originally called the "The Barn Dance", the show's name was changed to "The Grand Ole Opry" in the autumn of 1927. Bailey was perhaps the first African American heard on nationwide radio. The next year, he was the first African American to have a recording session in Nashville, Tennessee. Bailey recorded eight sides for RCA. Known for his train sounds, Bailey was one of the most influential harmonica players in blues and country music, and one of the most popular performers in the first fifteen years of the Opry, the longest running radio show in the country. Bailey was fired in 1941 as a by-result of the dispute between ASCAP and the newly formed BMI over payment for music played on the radio. In 1991, a memorial marker was erected near Bailey's birthsite in Wilson County, Tennessee.
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