[2] Born in Philadelphia, on 27 March 1960, Victor Randall Bailey was raised by a highly musical family.

His father, Morris Bailey Jr., was an active musician and composer, while his uncle, Donald "Duck" Bailey, was a jazz drummer, who played on numerous Blue Note records (e.g., Jimmy Smith Trio, Hampton Hawes, Carmen McRae, Dizzy Gillespie).

[4] Beginning in 1978, at the age of 18, Bailey attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston after being disqualified from naval service due to asthma.

The weakness finally spread to his upper body, necessitating his 2015 retirement from performing and from his teaching position at Berklee College of Music.

The J-4 sold for $10,455 US[9] Bailey had a series of remarkable contributions[ambiguous] as the main bassist for American jazz fusion band Weather Report, for which he played on four of their studio albums between 1983 and 1986.