Born on May, 7, 1944 to proud parents Matthew Bailey Sr. and Marion Young Bailey, Matthew was the oldest of 11 children; Vonzell, Alberta, Janette, Marion, James, Ronnie-Ronald, Elzie, Sidney, Emma, Doley-Elnora, and Wayne-Dwayne.  Matt grew up on 907 Asa St. in Montgomery, Alabama.  Matt Loved to entertain.  He talked loud, danced, sang and anything for attention. Matt was also an excellent story teller.  He absolutely LOVED JAMES BROWN!  And he would tell you that as many times as you could hear it.  He also loved to tell  the story of how he shined Martin Luther King Jr's shoes one time back in Alabama.  It almost sounded like the same story from "Coming to America".   As a youth, Matt would hang out at Gordon's Patio, a local spot for entertainment.  On the weekends, Gordon's Patio would hold Dance Contest, but everyone already knew who would be the winner....MATT.  Occasionally, on Sunday's, instead of going to church, Matt would pay someone who looked like him, to sit in his seat in the front of the church, so he could sneak out to the local Juke Joint and dance for quarters.  It was a great idea until one day, his mother found out!  One Sunday, she surprised him at the Juke Joint and started to tear his butt up, but some of the patrons intervened.  They explained that he was a good kid, just entertaining them for money.  After Mrs. Bailey saw how much money he had, she took the quarters and told him, "You better be home by supper!"   And an entertainer was born!   At a young age, Matt fathered his first child, Patrick Lumpkin with Ms. Marsha Broadnax.  Soon after Patrick was born, he relocated to the Big City - New York, NY.  Matt shared the story of how one of his friends rolled up on him as he was walking in town.  Matt asked him where he was going,  and his friend said, "New York City!  You wanna come?"  Matt said, "YEAH!".  He went home, and told his father his plans, where he was going, and what he wanted to do.   The next day, he left Montgomery with $20 that his father gave him, and a 7th grade education.   He was around 18 years old.   A year and a half later Matt returned to Montgomery with intentions to bring his brother, girlfriend, and son back with him to New York.  Unfortunately, Marsha's mother was not having it!  She didn't think Matt was ready to be a provider for his young son and girlfriend.  As Patrick recalls, "she didn't want them to be living in the ghetto in New York.  They just got out of the ghetto!."    Matt's mom, Mrs. Bailey, did allow Matt to take his brother Vonzell aka Bonnie with him back to NY.   The only reason she agreed is because she had a friend in NY who had a boarding house, and she knew that her sons would have a place to stay.   As most people know, Matt and Bonnie were stuck together like glue.   They owned several successful businesses together, lived together for a while and celebrate life together!  They were together so much, they almost had the same laugh.   Matt's first job was washing cabs for a cab company.  From there he moved on to restaurant work, doing odd jobs for local businessmen, until finally settling in with his brother Bonnie as Bar Manager/ Co-owner of several bars/clubs in New York City....always the entertainer.  Two of their more successful establishments were well known throughout the city.  "Sassy's" in the Bronx, New York and "The St. Nicks Pub", in Harlem. Not only was  Matt a great dancer, he was an excellent host, and he was known for being very aware of his appearance.  Matt had a closet full of custom made suits by legendary tailor, A.J. LESTER on Harlem's 125st.  Matt once shared that he never owned a pair of jeans!  He also wore the most unique jewelry.  Chains, bracelets, and of course pinky rings, and he never left the house without his nails being manicured and polished with a clear coat of nail hardener.  Matt  was FLY!   You could tell by his walk. and he knew it too.  Every now and then, he'd catch some young lady's attention.  Always the ladies man, he stayed in trouble!  Luckily for US, there were a few that were special to him; Estelle, who gave him his only daughter Keisha Bailey,  Alescia, who gave him his second son Corey Washington Bailey (Grand children Azia Washington & Jeff Washington, great grandson Corey Isaiah Washington),  and Beryl who gave him the gift of two sons, Matthew Bailey III (Grand Children Mario Bailey, Maison Bailey and Azzi - Rose Bailey), and Terrance Bailey.   Matthew Bailey Jr. was very respected.  For those of you who ever had a conversation with him in the street, you couldn't go 5 minutes without hearing, "AYE - MATT!"  Someone, everyone knew Big Matt or Mac-A-Do!  They'd just want to come over to him and shake his hand or "Holler at him for a minute."  He always shot straight. He was a man of great pride, and he had a code.  You might call it old school, but he had a code that he lived by and he made sure to pass it down to  his sons.  In his latter years, Matt could have run for mayor of his neighborhood.  The young G's seeked him out for council.  The old G's always got their respect from him. He was also, very respectful to all of the young women and children who would come across his path.  "Hey Miss Lady", was his official greeting to all young girls and women alike.  They could tell that it was genuine.  It gave them a sense of pride and self awareness.  They brightened up when they saw him.  "Hi Mr. Matt" was the usual response.  That type of energy was infectious.  That OTHER type of energy was infectious too!  He meant what he said, and if it was met with any disrespect, or opposition, he was always prepared for it to go the other way.  Have you ever seen a 70 year old man, with a cane in his left hand, a limp, and a razor in his right hand, hidden behind his back???? YEP....that was MATT!   Matt never proclaimed to be a hero.  He was just doing what he could to make sure his children had an education and were successful in this life.  He wanted them to be HAPPY.   There are numerous stories that can be shared in this writing, but that would not be fair to YOU.  We chose this platform so that you would be able to share YOUR experiences with Matt.  Who was He to YOU?  Lastly, if he were writing this, he'd be sure to add that he loved GOD, he loved his FAMILY, and he loved his CHILDREN!   His name is Matt Bailey and he is from NEW YORK CITY!