According to Anglo's reference, Mel Bay was born in 1913.

Oddly, I can't find any biographical info about him on the Mel Bay Publications site.

Unlike Bonnie, I was pretty sure there actually was a person named Mel Bay, but his name has become so completely synonymous with his product that he's joined the ranks of Colonel Sanders and Orville Redenbacher (at least Mel Bay Publications hasn't created a posthumous cartoon caricature of him to advertise their books)!

Bay has certainly left a legacy of encouraging new musicians. The message I've always gotten from his instructional material is: "You're better at this than you think you are, and with just these few simple tips and some practice you'll be better at this than I am!" While perhaps not the definitive source for "authentic" traditional music, his collections are still valuable learning tools. He's exposed an awful lot of people to an awful lot of good music, and he's made an awful lot of people awfully happy. A life well lived, if ever there was one.