I just saw this news this morning.
I know the name will mean nothing to most people here, but I first read about Joe Bussard in the last couple years. It's a pretty fascinating story - he's almost like the Jimbo of 78s. Huge collection, and they said he loved to take people to his basement and just play records for them.
I've quoted just the very beginning of the NPR obit, but I highly recommend reading the whole thing and especially watching the video linked in the story. I'd include that link here, but it's a Twitter link (embedded - you don't have to go to Twitter), but the look on his face when the record starts to play is just beautiful
Quote:
Joe Bussard, the record collector and American roots music historian, died Monday. Lance Ledbetter, founder of Dust-to-Digital, confirmed the death to NPR through Bussard's daughter Susannah Anderson. Bussard had been battling pancreatic cancer for almost three years. He was 86.
Bussard was born July 11, 1936, in Frederick, Md. From an early age, his passion was preservation. He sought out obscure 78-rpm records that otherwise would have disappeared: jazz, blues, bluegrass, country and folk recordings from the early 20th century — the history of America, pressed to shellac. In time, he amassed thousands of records all stored in his basement, none of them in any order except the one in his noggin.
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/27/11254273 ... d-obituaryRIP, Joe, and thank you.
