October 2 In Radio History

In 1928...The first professional recordings in Nashville took place as DeFord Bailey lays down eight tracks in Victor Records (later RCA) Studios.

DeFord Bailey

Bailey 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.

Bailey also had several records issued in 1927-1928, all of them harmonica solos. In 1927 he recorded for Brunswick records in New York City, while in 1928 he recorded eight sides for Victor in Nashville, of which three were issued on several labels, including Victor, Bluebird and RCA. Emblematic of the ambiguity of Bailey's position as a recording artist is the fact his arguably greatest recording, John Henry, was released separately in both RCA's 'race' and 'hillbilly' series.



He was a pioneer member of the WSM Grand Ole Opry, and one of its most popular performers, appearing on the program from 1927 to 1941. During this period he toured with many major country stars, including Uncle Dave Macon, Bill Monroe, and Roy Acuff.  Like other black stars of his day traveling in the South and West, he faced many difficulties in finding food and accommodation because of the discriminatory Jim Crow laws.

Bailey was fired by WSM in 1941 because of a licensing conflict with BMI-ASCAP, which prevented him from playing his best known tunes on the radio. This effectively ended his performance career, and he spent the rest of his life shining shoes and renting out rooms in his home to make a living. Though he continued to play the harp, he almost never performed publicly. One of his rare appearances occurred in 1974, when he agreed to make one more appearance on the Opry. This became the occasion for the Opry's first annual Old Timers' Show.

He died on July 2, 1982 in Nashville and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery there.

Elvis at Grand Ole Opry

In 1954...Elvis Presley bombs at the Grand Ole Opry, which does not approve of his take on traditional country music. The Opry's talent director, Jim Denny, famously tells Presley he should go back to driving a truck. Elvis swears never to return.

In 1965...The Hot 100...It was up against tough competition but the McCoy's reached #1 with "Hang On Sloopy".  Barry McGuire slid to 2 with "Eve of Destruction" and the Beatles made an incredible move from 45 to 3 with "Yesterday".  Any doubt what would be the #1 song the following week?  The Dave Clark Five were stuck at 4 with "Catch Us If You Can" and the former #1 "You Were On My Mind" from We Five was still at #5.

The rest of the Top 10:  The great instrumental "The 'In' Crowd" from the Ramsey Lewis Trio, Roy Head was up from 12-7 with "Treat Her Right", the Fortunes cracked the Top 10 with "You've Got Your Troubles", followed by two songs from Sonny & Cher--"Baby Don't Go" and "Laugh At Me" finished the list.

In 1971...The Album Chart..Rod Stewart was making an impact as a solo star as Every Picture Tells A Story reached #1 on the Album chart.  Carole King of Stanley, Idaho was three weeks short of setting the record for weeks at #1 (18) with her masterpiece Tapestry.  The Moody Blues were a solid #3 with Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Isaac Hayes was up to 4 with Shaft and Paul & Linda McCartney were at position #5 with Ram.

The rest of the Top 10:  Who's Next from the Who, the Carpenters' self-titled release, Master of Reality by Black Sabbath, The Partridge Family Sound Magazine and John Lennon moved from 134 to 10 with his first solo album Imagine.

In 1976...The Hot 100...Newcomer Wild Cherry remained at #1 with "Play That Funky Music", leader of a great Top 10.  A new duo on the scene, England Dan & John Ford Coley, would have to settle for having one of The Top #2's of the Rock Era* with "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight".  Walter Murphy had one of The Top 100 Instrumentals of the Rock Era with "A Fifth of Beethoven".  For laughs, we had Rick Dees with "Disco Duck" and Boz Scaggs' great song "Lowdown" remained #5.

The rest of the Top 10:  Cliff Richard's biggest hit "Devil Woman", War with "Summer", Chicago had their 22nd career hit and 11th Top 10 with "If You Leave Me Now", K.C. and the Sunshine Band's former #1 "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" and Orleans moved up to #10 with "Still the One".

In 1976...The Album Chart...Former Humble Pie member Peter Frampton was enjoying great success with the double-live album Frampton Comes Alive!--it was #1 for a ninth week.  It had to be a special album to hold off Silk Degrees from Boz Scaggs.  Hasten Down the Wind was right behind by Linda Ronstadt.

The rest of the Top 10:  Wild Cherry with their debut, the Greatest Hits album from War, Spirit by John Denver at #7, Jefferson Starship's Spitfire, Steve Miller moved into the Top 10 with Fly Like An Eagle and Chicago's ninth consecutive Top 5 album (Chicago X) was now at #10.


In 1995...FCC eliminates licensed operator requirements

In 2003...It was announced that talk show host Rush Limbaugh was being investigated for allegedly buying thousands of addictive painkillers from a black-market drug ring.