DeFord Bailey's Rise and the 1941 Copyright Conflict

PBS Learning Media
Contributed By
PBS Learning Media
Resource Type
Classroom Material
Keywords
ken burns country music vocation music industry recording artist deford bailey race racism segregation grand ole opry carter family ralph peer oral tradition maddox family dust bowl migration record label historical context hillbilly music african american music race music Bristol Music Bristol recordings ASCAP BMI AP Carter Sara Carter
Subjects
History-Social Science The Arts
Grade Levels
Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12
Related Resources

DeFord Bailey's Rise and the 1941 Copyright Conflict

Learn about the story of artist DeFord Bailey: his beginnings, early passion and talent for music, and his journey to the Grand Ole Opry — where he became the first African American artist to take the stage.

A 1941 "copyright war" between the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Media Incorporated (BMI) shook up the music industry and contributed to Bailey’s dismissal from the Opry.
Publisher
PBS Learning Media

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