Buzz Busby

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Buzz Busby (real name: Bernarr Graham Busbice ; born September 6, 1933 in Eros , Louisiana , † January 5, 2003 in Catonsville , Maryland ) was an American bluegrass musician . In the field of rockabilly , Busby is best known for his single Rock and Roll Fever .

Life

Childhood and youth

Born in Louisiana, Busby learned to play the mandolin as a child . He heard his idol Bill Monroe regularly in the Grand Ole Opry and played with his brothers in a small band. Busby later moved to Washington, DC , where he briefly worked for the FBI .

Career

However, he did not stay with the US Federal Police for long, because Busby made contact with the local music scene and in the 1950s he founded a band again with Scotty Stoneman, Bill Emerson, the banjo virtuoso Eddie Adcock, Jack Clement , Charlie Waller and Pete Pike . With Pike he also developed the comedy duo Jam and Scram . Between 1954 and 1955 Busby appeared together with Scott Stoneman and Mac Wiseman at the Hayloft Hoedown on local broadcaster WRC-TV. In 1955 he made his first recordings with his band Bayou Boys on the small label Jiffy Records .

The Jiffy single Me and the Juke Box was not a hit, but it sold so well that the management of the Louisiana Hayrides noticed Busby and hired him for the show. The hayride was next to the Grand Ole Opry the best known and most successful country show in the whole country, Busby stayed for two years (1955-1956).

In 1957 he switched to rockabilly for a short time. First he played a very rough and wild version of his title Rock and Roll Fever at Fernwood Records in Memphis , Tennessee , but it was never released. After that, a quieter version of the song was released on Speaks Records. The song is very popular with today's rockabilly collectors, especially in the Fernwood version, but in 1957 the single received little attention and so Busby returned to traditional bluegrass.

But Busby spoke more and more of alcohol in the following years, which ended in 1962 in prison. In the late 1960s he played in a group with Leon Morris that was recording for Rounder Records and Jessup and was arrested again. In the early 1980s, Busby was active for his brother's label, but largely withdrew from the public eye in 1984 due to his poor health. He only performed occasionally and made a few records. He made his last recordings in 1993 with Patutex Partners.

Buzz Busby died of heart failure in 2003. He is considered by musicologists and bluegrass experts as the "father of DC bluegrass" ("father of DC bluegrass").

Discography

Singles

year title Record company
1955 Just Me and the Jukebox / Lost Jiffy Records
1957 Reno Bound / Rocky Mountain Ramble Carol Records
1957 Your Red Wagon / That Guy's Gotta Go Carol Records
1957 Rock and Roll Fever / I'll Always Whonder Why (as Graham B.) Speaks Records
1958 Talking Banjo / Lonesome Starday Records
1958 Banjo Twist / Mandolin Tango Starday Records
1958 Lost / Lonesome Wind Starday Records
1959 Going Home / Me and the Jukebox Starday Records
1959 Reno Bound / Where Will This End Starday Records
1960 Cold and Windy Night / Don't Come Runnin 'Back To Me Starday Records
1960 Going Back To Dixie / Just For Me (with Wayne Busby) Empire Records
1961 Pretty Polly / Don't Leave Me Alone Empire Records
1965 It's Looking Like Rain / Dream Almanac Records
1966 Mandolin Twist / Blue Vietnam Skies Rebel Records
1970 Scramble / Just For A While (with Leon Morris) Rebel Records
1970 Warm Red Wine / Mule Skinner Blues World Music Records
1972 Flames / Rambler Jan Records
Unpublished titles
1954
  • Wicked Path of Sin
  • Just A Little Talk with Jesus
  • Deep Freeze Mama Blues
  • Baby baby
  • Take Back Your Heart (I Ordered Liver)
  • The Funniest Thing I Ever Did See
  • I do mean moo
 Mount Vernon Records
(Ham & Scram)
1956
  • Cold and Windy Night
 Jiffy Records
1957
  • Rock and Roll Fever
 Fernwood Records
1957-1958
  • Buzz's Ramble
  • Whose Red Wagon
  • I don't mind
  • Windy strings
 Starday Records
1959
  • Rock and Roll Atom
  • Rock and Roll Fever
 Empire Records

Albums

  • 1975: Honky Tonk Bluegrass (with Leon Morris)
  • 1981: A Pioneer of Traditional Bluegrass
  • 1983: Busby Yesterday & Today - Bluegrass Sound of Buzz
  • 1986: Louisiana Bluegrass (with Wayne Busby as Busby Brothers )
  • 1988: Stained Grass Bluegrass (with Wayne Busby as Busby Brothers )
  • 2003: Going Home - Greatest Starday Recordings

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Busby, Buzz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Busbice, Bernarr (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American bluegrass musician
DATE OF BIRTH September 6, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Eros, Louisiana
DATE OF DEATH January 5, 2003
Place of death Catonsville, Maryland