Joe Bussard

American collector of 78-rpm records, musician, and owner/operator of Fonotone Record from 1958 to 1970. Born July 11, 1936 in Frederick, Maryland. Died September 26, 2022 in Frederick, Maryland. Bussard maintained a collection of more than 15,000 records, primarily of American folk, gospel, and blues from the 1920s and 1930s, believed to be one of the largest (and best quality) in the world. He was the subject of a documentary film, Desperate Man Blues, and his collection was mined for a compilation CD, Down in the Basement.