Jasper Bisbee

Jasper E. "Jep" Bisbee (born July 29, 1843 in Ossian , New York , † August 10, 1935 in Ludington , Michigan ) was an American old-time musician . Fiddler , from the north of the USA, was one of the few old-time musicians who recorded for Edison Records and one of the first rural musicians to ever produce a record.

Life

Childhood and youth

Jasper Bisbee was born in New York State in 1843 as the youngest son of Alanson and Mary C. (Bagley) Bisbee. In 1858 the family moved to Ionia County , Michigan, where they lived on a farm where young Bisbee was helping. During this time his interest in music developed. Allegedly, Bisbee's older brother made him a fiddle out of horse hair and a branch, on which he learned old songs by ear from his mother.

Further life and late career

During the American Civil War , Bisbee went on a show but played the drum. According to Bisbee's own statements, they were also in Detroit in 1861 . After the war, between 1869 and 1918, Bisbee often changed his profession - music was always present in his life and he earned something extra, probably even taking most of his income from it at times.

Bisbee's career as a record artist didn't begin until he was 80. On November 28, 1923, he met Thomas Edison , founder of Edison Records, Bisbee in the Newark , New Jersey train station . He immediately invited Bisbee, his son Earl and his daughter Beulah to the Edison Studio, where on the first day he recorded some songs with Earl ( bass ) and Beulah ( piano ), but they were not released. On the second day, Bisbee was only accompanied by his daughter. Together they recorded Opera Reel , The Devil's Dream , Money Musk with Variations , The Girl I Left Behind Me , McDonald's Reel and College Hornpipe . Bisbee needed a total of three takes for each track , so that on the second day alone, 18 tapes came together. For a man of his age that was certainly a remarkable achievement - Thomas Edison later said that Bisbee made most of the recordings for Edison in one day, although this is doubtful.

In February 1924, Edison published The Devil's Dream , which sold very well. The Opera Reel also showed good sales, so the other pieces were also released. Nevertheless, it was Bisbee's only session, which is probably due to his old age.

Bisbee continued to appear sporadically. He had his last appearance in 1935 shortly before his death at a church festival; shortly after the performance, Bisbee suffered a heart attack and a brain haemorrhage . He was taken to the local hospital where he eventually died of the complications at the age of 92. Bisbee was buried in West Cemetery near Paris , Michigan.

Web links

• Article in the Old-Time Herald
• biography