The King Of Record Collectors -Joe Bussard

Joe Bussard had the largest collection of rare 78 rpm records in the world. This is an interview I did with Joe Bussard at a hotel room in Knoxville, Tennessee. Joe passed away a couple of days ago, so I figured I'd share this here.
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[@otisgibbs]

Joe passed away a couple of days ago, so I figured I'd share this interview with y'all. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed recording it.

[@mannishboy1]

RIP, Joe.

[@jimmydelancey8920]

Sorry for the loss of your friend.

[@stevenhicksmusic169]

Oh, no! I loved his radio show. What an awesome dude.

[@jimhurlbut3649]

Sorry for your loss. What a truly staggering breadth of knowledge. And it sounds like 15,000 essentially mint condition records. Whoa. What a treasure of a collection and a man.

[@toddflowers8052]

RIP Joe .....so sorry for our loss 🥺🙏

[@bobblehead67]

Had the privilege of spending a whole day, morning to dark with Joe back in December 2002. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at his beloved Barbara Fritchie Diner on route 40 in Frederick and back to his basement for 78s and stories. He was trying to quit cigars so he was sucking on candy canes all day. I was researching an old Maryland radio cowboy (seriously) named Happy Johnny Zufall and Bussard actually had recorded him for Joe's Fonotone label. He had actual Happy Johnny broadcasts as well that he copied for me. "Character" doesn't begin to describe him; he was a force of nature. R.I.P. Joe and condolences to his family and friends.

[@markkotishion2379]

Knew him since the late 1970's. Many hours spent in that basement, the walls were orange from decades of cigar smoke. We'd eat at the Barbara Fritchie where he ruled the roost. Then back to the basement, I left late at night. Sometimes, I bought records, but we played music all day. Miss him, a total original.

[@Ybor-ld6uq]

Another gem Otis. RIP Joe. What a cool, knowledgeable guy.

[@johnnielson7676]

In the early eighties I dove heavily into pre-swing cowboy music such as Carl Sprague and Jules Verne Allen. I called Joe to see what he had. He was so excited to find someone who was into that material, and rattled off by memory every side he thought I’d be interested in. I’ve still got those cassettes. I think he charged 50 cents per track. He’d fill up a cassette, include a typewriter typed track list and charge postage. I no doubt spent many times that on long distance phone calls (expensive back then) as he never talked for less than an hour or more, but man did I learn a lot. What a great guy. I just wish I’d been able to meet him in person and see his archive. Thanks so much for sharing this, Otis!

[@phononut]

So sorry to hear of Joe's passing. There will never be another person with the love and knowledge of music than him. I've bought many of the CDs he made from his collection. He wasn't like most collectors who kept it hidden away he wanted to share it with EVERYONE. May he rest in Peace and know that he will be truly missed.

[@tresblack4739]

Can't explain, but interviews like this one is probably the best possible podcast you could make - and you've made some great ones.

[@wittry2]

You can hear the salesman in his voice. A friendly happy guy enjoying the hunt and the life he chose. They don't make them like Joe anymore. God bless him. Your video is a capture of a rare find as well, Otis. Thanks!

[@philjohns6361]

Sorry about your friend Mr. Gibbs. Peace to you Brother. The Video was great. Thanks

[@jamesbayles1551]

Sorry to hear Joe passed. Talked to him on the phone couple of times. He had so much great knowledge of the old music. Really like him

[@sammencia7945]

RIP a true legend and lover of music.

[@Claytone-Records]

‘Made a wrong turn looking for the flea market…’. Yes indeed, welcome to the club. Couple of legends here/hear.

[@williamperkins7318]

"Too spensive" has been added to my vernacular. Love the old tapes.

[@moshemorgenstern9636]

Otis, that was one of your best yet.

[@good_king_guitarman1334]

I love these long form stories Otis, are they from the old "Thanks for giving a damn" days? These old stories are true treasures.

[@billminton6688]

Bless Joe's soul.

[@ministerofdarkness]

RIP Joe. Truly the KING of Records.

[@Caperhere]

Man, he had a world of knowledge in his head. 15, 000 records!

[@swingandshout]

Loved anything I could find that had something to do with Joe. This is a great share Otis. Thanks so much.

[@joelmccoin9727]

WOW, Amazing, May You Bask in the Glory of the Lord, Joe.

[@TR-yi8up]

This might be the best thing I’ve heard you put out…nice work as always, Otis

[@mannishboy1]

Such an awesome interview! I wonder if Joe ever met a fella named John Glover from Buckskin, Indiana. He was another mega record collector. Unfortunately, we lost Glover this year...

[@sayeager5559]

Ive seen several documentaries about him, very cool guy. He was at a collectors meeting that I went to about 30 years ago and was treated like a superstar.

[@BOBBRADLEYCHANNEL]

Dang, Godspeed joe… great little video Otis.

[@jameswarner6899]

Good stuff I remember getting records at the fair when I was a kid

[@cliffordyaun6505]

Sorry to hear of his passing. Thanks for posting this interview.

[@claudecat]

Thanks so much for posting this. Joe was a character, and so much great music was literally saved for posterity by him. One of the bigger regrets of my life in not having at least attempted to meet and talk to him - I live within easy driving distance. I hope there are lots of interviews like this, because the information in that guy's mind was priceless and irreplaceable. RIP Joe Bussard.

[@SteveMerritt]

I just came across this channel yesterday, fantastic content. The fact you had such a nice send off for Joe… you’re a class act

[@NippersLounge]

Thank you for sharing that interview!

[@luvmifro]

Absolutely amazing 🥰 thank you for sharing

[@smallwonder7304]

I just heard the news today about his passing 😕 bum deal but man did h3 have a run and a whole lot of fun!!!! This is gold this tape thank you for this it's great to hear some of these stories again 👍😃 sleep in peace Joe

[@Hurricanehamo]

Thanks for Sharing Otis. This was such a pleasure to hear. I hope you're well rested after the 12 hr car journey last week, I imagine you were almost hallucinating from the sleep deprivation by the time you got home. I look forward to you next post. Thanks for everything you've posted.

[@CMQ01]

Thanks for sharing this. I really enjoy your channel. It’s like hanging out with an old friend again that i’ve never met.

[@MinnesotaMax]

Thank you, Otis

[@jimbivins4472]

Great interview Otis. It brought back tons of memories of my father. He collected 78’s When I was growing up and ended up with a complete collection of Andrews sisters records. Wherever he went when I was a boy we would look for records. He died in 2019 but a few years before he died he donated his entire collection to the Andrew sisters hometown museum in Minnesota. That really made him happy. Thanks again for the great content.

[@usererror8208]

Great stories. thanks for sharing this. I grew up listening to stories like this. really regret never recording them. R.I.P. Joe

[@scottkidwellmusic9175]

Thank you, Otis! Fair winds and following seas, Joe Bussard. Such a treasured history. My mom recently gave me a collection of 78s from her parent's collection. I still need to go through and catalogue them. Mostly WW2 era big band. Dad gave me his 70s era stereo, which is currently in the shop getting refurbished. Looking forward to listening to them soon. Be good to you 🤍💛

[@darrensinnott2197]

This has made me smile so much, what a man he was. He loved music for sure. All the music he has saved from being lost forever, a life well lived!!!!!

[@g2guns562]

Hello Otis Gibbs, don't remember this fellow but sounds like a knowledgeable neat ole feller thank you for the upload neat history

[@martywilliams5759]

Thanks Otis. I didn't know Mr. Bussard. Thank goodness for people like him. He'll be missed.

[@johnrosier1686]

Very interesting interview. Joe certainly went the extra mile to build up his record collection. Definitely a wealth of knowledge on all this old vinyl.

[@jayjaynella4539]

A deceased friend of mine in Australia had a friend who had a roomful of vinyl records. So many the room had to be reinforced. If you dig deep enough in the Indy landfill on Harding St, you can find 100s of thousands of vinyl records that the record companies took to the landfill when the company could not sell the records. People found out and the record company then bought a grinder to ruin the records so people could not take them.

[@pauls6897]

And yet, they complain about piracy.

[@kevinhuber8723]

Great interview! Love Frankie. I have a tuxedo myself named Marlon. He is not taking my surgery well and is now afraid of me almost 50 days later! Mind You, I adopted him in 2016! What a weirdo! Thanks for the video's as they break up my days of rehabilitation.

[@allenhatfield4149]

A lot of gold in those Thanks for giving a damn podcast. You could have, and maybe should have, interviewed him for hours more. Great stuff Otis, thanks for giving a damn when some of us didn't know we gave a damn. I listen to those when lights are black and the air is cold.

[@peterzitta227]

Great interview and stories from Joe. Washington Post did a story on Joe not long ago. Thanks for sharing.

[@stevewuertz3598]

Otis-thanks for letting us know of Joe's passing. Sorry to hear of it. I've been aware of Joe B for 20 some years-he was an inspiration to us all-also an enabler in that I could always justify my obsessiveness by thinking "I'm not near as bad as Joe B. " I'm always surprised I did not develop wrist tendonitis from flipping through the used records bins at Goodwills, Thrift Stores, Flea Markets and Record Collector shows-especially up till my 30s. .Still have em all. I still hunt for some of em-just not as much. I have around 1000 LPs in the dining room that I deemed to be "non essential" to the collection and therefore sellable at some point. They've been sitting in the dining room for 21 years now and I haven't let one loose yet. We are a group of sick puppies

[@rickowens6238]

Wish I could double like this one. Just loved this interview!

[@msalty2823]

I don't think anyone goes knocking on doors anymore. Too dangerous these days. Funny but I just finished rereading God Bless You Mr. Rosewater.

[@rogerwilliams2629]

That was just ...awesome.

[@bradhardisty1652]

Wow, this is historic now.

[@Rad_Pug]

What a story teller Joe was. Wow.

[@HughRailey]

What a blessing- he will be missed

[@nolarocks]

Nice to hear them called what they were always called.

[@DavidLee-rx6uo]

Love Frankie . The stories he could tell

[@gypsydavy708]

Great listen. I wonder what happens to all those records?

[@prestonsmith7031]

WPAQ Am 740 in Mt AIry NC - Saturday 1:30pm - 2:00pm Early Country Classics with Joe Bussard - and you can hear it online

[@williamhopper7873]

Remember going to the carnival as a child and observing the games of skill. Was shocked to see piles of 78s behind the booth. They were sliding 78s into a long grooved board. To win the game you had to break records by throwing baseballs. I was horrified. As a record lover at ten years old I had to look away.

[@williamdeming853]

🙏

[@mikehrenak1390]

I sold Kirby vacuums door to door I can relate totally

[@geraldhugley3618]

Joe recorded with John Fahey. Fahey used to also go house to house buying records.

[@garymelnyk7910]

Fahey changed my life. He was crazy, so they say. But so was Emily Dickinson, so was Heraclitus, so was William Blake, so they say.

[@jeffk2053]

R.I.P. JOE

[@musicman257]

Wonder what they did with his collection

[@friendlier]

RIP Joe

[@stevewuertz3598]

PS-hate to bring it up but this also occured to me when the local NPR music DJ Paul Ray passed-I was sad. I knew Paul and we'd bump into each other at shows and I remember him from his days with the Cobras-when little stevie vaughan was the second guitar......after I acknowledged how sad it was that Paul had died-my next thought was "where all those records now and where are they going?' Ghoulish i know but ya know-collectors are obsessive

[@hailmaryrecordings8255]

Frankie is awesome. I have 2 tuxedos as well.

[@BlackHoleBrew42]

May you play Screwdriver Blues in the sky.

[@dguy0386]

3:03 oh to meet the generation that called them "talking machines", all gone now i'm guessing

[@johnrourke4363]

Oh ,sad to hear. Kind of a hero