[2] Daylie's mother died giving birth in Covington, Tennessee and his father passed away 5 years later; then an older brother, Clinton (he was the youngest of 12 siblings,) took him in.
Serving up tricks learned with the Globetrotters at his next job, he took to bartending and put their showmanship to the trade, spinning bottles, rhyming behind the bar while bouncing ice cubes with pratfalls to wow the crowd.
His oldest friend, Dempsey Travis, recalled him as the trickster entertainer to customers while serving them drinks, flipping ice cubes behind him into glasses, saying I'm as nice as a mother's advice, and keeping a steady banter going.
[3] While serving drinks at the whites only El Grotto Supper Club in the Pershing Hotel[4] the host of the Today Show, Dave Garroway, caught his spiel and recommended that he put his talents to a better medium, suggesting radio.
He called the show 'Jazz from Dad's Pad' and became the first DJ in the Chicago market to play Jazz and Be-Bop as an antidote to Swing as mainstays.
He used his program to become active in Civil Rights and one of Daddy-O's special shout-outs on WGN was Operation Christmas Basket, which donated food to hungry Chicagoans during Christmastime.
He was the unofficial manager for the group for a number of years, along with the bassist Eldee Young and drummer Redd Holt whom also played with Lewis.
[10] Beginning in 1956, the overnight hours were his domain, "Daddy-O" brought his sense of humor, way with words and musical knowledge to WMAQ[11] as he played cool jazz through the night.
[18] In 2001 he was given writing credit on Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions for the cut "Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal" with Marl H. Young.
He was a fixture on the air in Chicago during the 1950s and 1960s, influencing Civil Rights and the black experience thru his on-air presence and having a large following of modern Jazz enthusiasts in that venue.