Thomas Bailey

There are at least two Thomas Baileys: (1) cult figure in deep soul circles, THOMAS BAILEY only seems to have released a tiny number of 45s. But they are all considered ?Holy Grails? by fans of the deep genre. Bailey was active in the Macon area with his group the Flintstones around the turn of the 70s and was involved with local record entrepreneur Bobby Smith. He wrote material for Mickey Murray among others as well as making his own discs.

(1) cult figure in deep soul circles, THOMAS BAILEY only seems to have released a tiny number of 45s. But they are all considered ?Holy Grails? by fans of the deep genre. Bailey was active in the Macon area with his group the Flintstones around the turn of the 70s and was involved with local record entrepreneur Bobby Smith. He wrote material for Mickey Murray among others as well as making his own discs. His first Federal 45 coupled the ballad ?Fran? with the strutting southern funk of ?Just Won't Move? but his killer release for the label was the next one. ?Wish I was Back? is a version of the George Jackson/Raymond Moore song ?Back In Your Arms Again? which Wilson Pickett cut at Muscle Shoals a couple of years previously in 1969. While Pickett's is the more polished performance Bailey's is the one for the connoisseur. The power and conviction of his gruff, compelling vocal leave listeners breathless. A great 45. His other rarity is the brilliant deep ?I Need You? for the tiny local Stone label. This features another powerhouse vocal over a dead slow backing, this time with a fine horn section offering the occasional punchy phrase. Apparently Bailey still lives in the area but is no longer involved in secular music.

(2) As a recognizable face in the Old Time Music
scene/festival circuit, Thomas Bailey?s sound and
style expresses his deep love and passion for Southern
string band music. Born and raised in Southwest
Virginia, this die hard performer?s distinct baritone
voice punctuates his multi-instrumental facility of
guitar, fiddle and string bass.

As a journeyman of such bands as the
Hogwaller Ramblers, Faster than Walking and most
recently the hard charging, energetic festival fave,
The Forge Mountain Diggers, Bailey will kick off the
new year 2008 with an exclamation when he
joins the newly revived, old time trailblazers, the
Freight Hoppers. Fans who had one last listen of the
critically acclaimed Top 20 Billboard Americana
music chart topping band back in 2002, are poised for
a treat when Bailey, along with original members,
fiddler David Bass (coming off the FMDs), banjo player
Frank Lee and new bass player Isaac Deal, take the
stage.

He resides in New York City.