# Who Was the Black Woman With a Country Hit?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-black-woman-with-a-country-hit/545423>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 3, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-black-woman-with-a-country-hit/545423 "2010-07-03T14:02:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-black-woman-with-a-country-hit/545423/21 "2010-07-08T21:55:36Z")

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**DeFord Bailey** was a black harmonica player who is now in the Country Music Hall of Fame. At one point he was the only black person in the Hall other than Charley Pride… I’m not sure if that’s still the case.

> **[DeFord Bailey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deford_Bailey)**
>
> DeFord Bailey (December 14, 1899 – July 2, 1982) was an American country music and blues star from the 1920s until 1941. He was one of the first performers to be introduced on Nashville radio station WSM's Grand Ole Opry, the first African-American performer to appear on the show, and the first performer to have his music recorded in Nashville. Bailey played several instruments in his career but is best known for playing the harmonica, often being referred to as a "harmonica wizard".
> Born an...

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**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-black-woman-with-a-country-hit/545423/22 "2010-07-09T17:52:22Z")

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Two more black singers who enjoyed some country success are Stoney Edwards (“Hank and Lefty Raised My Country Soul”) and Big Al Downing.  
As I noted in another thread, the accusation is always quick to be leveled that white artists “ripped off” jazz and blues influences from blacks. What’s less talked about is that the bluesmen of the 20s/30s/40s were also huge country music fans. Most of them listened to the Grand Ole Opry religiously, and incorporated the country songs of the day into their own repertoires.

Howlin’ Wolf (IMHO the greatest blues artist of all time) freely admitted that his trademark “wolf howl” was influenced by his love for Jimmie Rodgers’ yodeling.

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