Topic: RIP Joe Bussard

[btasoundsradio]

1936-2022

[jostber]

Ri.I.P. to one of the most important Blues and Jazz collectors and promoters ever. His collection is legendary and also his unbound enthusiasm for the early music we love.


https://www.fox3now.com/famed-78-collector-music-historian-and-radio-host-joe-bussard-passed-away-at-age-86/
https://www.fretboardjournal.com/features/joe-bussard-feeling-adamant-today-inside-mind-unyielding-record-collector/


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[Stuart]

https://pitchfork.com/news/joe-bussard-record-collector-who-preserved-early-american-blues-and-more-dies-at-86/

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/27/1125427371/joe-bussard-obituary

Rest In Peace, Joe

[lindy]

The NPR obituary contains a link to this Dust-to-Digital page. You can "only" listen to 20 of the 131 songs on this 5-CD collection, but they're good 'uns.

https://dusttodigital.bandcamp.com/album/fonotone-records-frederick-maryland-1956-1969?from=embed

[David Kaatz]

If you subscribe to Amazon Prime music, the entire album is available.

[Stuart]

In today's NY Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/30/arts/music/joe-bussard-dead.html

[jharris]

I aired a show on Joe a month ago. You can find it here along with a slideshow of photos: https://sundayblues.org/?p=25552

I got to hang in Joe's basement on a couple of occassions and it was an amazing experience.

[Stuart]

Thanks, Jeff, for putting together the show. It was a nice and fitting tribute to Joe.

John Tefteller's remarks about donating to institutions in order to find a good home for materials in their archives is spot on. But it's not for the lack of insight that donated materials seem to fall into a "black hole." It's owing to the lack of resources. Shelf and storage space, money in the budget to hire knowledgeable staff to do the required work, the funds to purchase and maintain equipment, and probably most important, finding ongoing financial support to keep the entire enterprise going and the materials accessible all factor into the equation. And donated materials are often the "neglected step-child" of institutions, and it can take years, if not decades, for them to get the attention they deserve--if, in fact, they ever do. It shouldn't be this way, but unfortunately it is.

Where are those winning Powerball numbers when we really need 'em?

[Rivers]

RIP Joe. He was very nice to me when I emailed him with a question several years ago.

[Lignite]

I discovered Joe Bussard in the mid 1970s through two friends into old time music. I was heavy into old time then and had some money from a temporary job. His deal was 35 cents per side which he copied onto a reel to reel tape. My friends had the complete Delmore Brothers, Blue Sky Boys and Tobacco Tags. I went for the Monroe Brothers and Uncle Dave Macon among various blues not available on the reissue labels at the time. So for around 30 dollars you had a custom collection of rare 78s just for you. I learned so much from these tapes and felt privileged to hear tunes unavailable anywhere else. It was like getting a master class and was an important part of my musical education. He had these hand typed mimeographed sheets that had all the records that he had available for which he charged 10 cents a copy. Our little group buy some of them and would then make copies of the song sheets and tapes of the music to trade with each other. He even was able to burn disc copies and did so for me on several occasions. I got to visit once in his basement about 20 years later but that's a whole other story. Here the sheet Joe sent out to describe his terms of operation:

[Lignite]

Here is a custom disc pressing Joe made for me in the 1970s. He goofed up on the title (as he was sometimes prone to do) and we always found this to be hilarious.

[Stuart]

Yesterday (10/4/22) I picked up a print copy of the NY Times as I always do on Tuesdays, primarily for the "Science Times" section. On the back page of the first section (A24), the top two-thirds were devoted to Joe's obituary. His importance in life was obviously understood and appreciated by more than the relatively small population of people who love and value old music.

[Stuart]

Via Fretboard Journal re: Joe's collection:

https://tinyurl.com/2tak4zx5

Also in the FJ, a link to a story from 2007:

https://www.fretboardjournal.com/features/joe-bussard-feeling-adamant-today-inside-mind-unyielding-record-collector/