Joe Bussard Obituary

Joe Bussard was an American collector of 78-rpm records. He was born on July 11, 1936, in Frederick, Maryland.

He always had the collecting bug: in his teens, he and his cousin collected everything from rare coins to beehives to bird’s nests. His dislike for modern music, especially hip hop and rock and roll was well documented.

Bussard produced a weekly music program, Country Classics, for Georgia Tech’s radio station, WREK Atlanta. He had radio programs on other stations: including WPAQ-AM 740 in Mount Airy, North Carolina, and WDVX in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Bussard disliked the city of Nashville, Tennessee sometimes called “Music City”, calling it Trashville.

He was interviewed in 2022 and cited the recording, Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground, by Willie Johnson as one of the greatest recordings of all time.

He died on September 26, 2022, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.