Charlie Bailey Interview

Interview with Charlie Bailey (1916-2004), recorded August 8, 2003, by Darwin Lee Hill for Darwin Lee’s Real Hillbilly Music Show, WHVW, 950 AM, Poughkeepsie, New York.



As the Bailey Brothers, Charlie and Danny Bailey—along with their band, the Happy Valley Boys—served as an important link between the close-harmony brother duet sound of the 1930s and ’40s and the developing sounds of bluegrass. The brothers performed together from the 1930s into the 1950s, when health issues forced Danny to retire. Charlie continued to perform and the duo reunited on a number of occasions, recording two albums for Rounder Records and appearing twice at the Smithsonian’s Festival of American Folklife.

A full interview transcript is included.