78 Collectors: Why are they so weird?

i've never met a 78 collector, but i sure would like to. i mean, it'd be better than meeting, say, a Nascar fan, right?

I have one of those library all-in-one units, like from an AV class in the 70's. It has the kind of needle you flip over to play 78s. My entire collection came from the dump here, one day I was doing a dump run for work and my friend who works there was like "you gotta take these". There were probably a dozen boxes. I gave a lot away to a local 78 fiend I know. There are a bunch of kids here in Eugene who have a 78 club where they all sit around and play their latest finds. They are younger than me but total geeks when it comes to shellac. They are all way into old time music and most of them play in bands.

I think of an entire scene of dudes like Robert Crumb and Harvey Pekar when I think of 78 collectors.

I know this stuff is very collectible for older guys. Is there any demand for these records among younger listeners?

dreamy
http://quandros.com/blog/FONOTONE_bussard.jpg

uh
http://quandros.com/blog/FONOTONE_bussard.jpg

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=32147741

Joe Bussard's myspace site

I collect vintage 78's from the thirties. I don't like anything made after the the thirties. Rap music is pure garbage Now don’t classify that stuff as music, good Lord. You run into a teenager, 16 or 17, ask them what noise is. “I don’t know.” How could they know ‘cause that’s all they hear. All you gotta do is listen. It’s a shame that all that’s great in this country is gone. Rock music is garbage – Straight from hell. Look at the people who do it. Idiots, they’re like animals. 99% of ‘em’s drug heads. The Beatles are crap You ought to step on them. That’s what you do with beetles. It’s just a sign of the times, a bunch of weirdos banging crap. It’s too bad their plane made it over here. If one had to crash that should have been the one. That would have helped our music situation for years. Elvis Presley – Couldn’t stand him Stupid looking thing. I’m just tellin’ it like it is

What's wrong with tucked-in t-shirts? And Thora Birch, for that matter??

a few months ago i told a friend if i started collecting 45s to shoot me. later that weekend we were in a 45 only store digging for hours.

i will end up like one of these guys one day.

nah, i'm sure you've got too much self-awareness for that, and are also probably missing some borderline-Apergerian gene that those guys have.

"Asperbegerian"

eh, never mind.

what i'm saying is you're probably too self-aware, as well as able to balance any compulsive crate-digging with healthy socializing to wind up as one of "those guys"

it's spelled ass burgers

right.

Bussard's so old school he doesn't even like swing.

"Lemme play you one of the last real jazz bands, Joseph Robechaux and his New Orleans Rhythm Boys, recorded in New York City in 1933," he says of the record, "King Kong Stomp" on Vocalion. "You can hear it slip into the swing [he slurs this word as a ready-made profanity], but it's still good, one of the last really hot jazz songs. But that beautiful tone, that perfection, is starting to slide."

I saw an amazing vintage HMV gramophone at a car boot last weekend. £30. Wish I'd taken the thing. I just love the way they're completely portable. And no batteries! Fuck a ghetto blaster...

joe bussard otm

Item: RICHARD HITTERS CAB1NEERS EVERYBODYS 1063 78RPM (180160742569)
Subject: Re: Question for item #180160742569 - RICHARD HITTERS CAB1NEERS EVERYBODYS 1063 78RPM

Q: hi, is this hot fast paced jazz, really hot, burn you hot, need a pucket of water hot- or is it slow dance music also how many records did this group do? and is everybody's record label a spinoff of victor records thankyou

i like this joe bussard guy.

ha ha, yeah, joe bussard is pretty hilarious in his claim that jazz died somewhere around 1932 ... the guy does not mince words! his stories about finding 78 collections off in the hills are practically erotica. He used to have a Web site where you could order homemade cassettes of his old 78s -- i have two of them and they're awesome! Not sure if he still does that though ...

http://www.youtube.com/user/78MAN

for all your 78 viewing needs

his claim that jazz died somewhere around 1932

This kind of opinion is normal amongst folks who are into collecting and listening to these old records. 1930 is usually the cut-off point, with a few minor exceptions into the early 30s. R. Crumb holds this view for example.

There's even a documentary about Joe Bussard... it's got some great music as well as loads of stories about how he amassed this huuuuuuuuuuge collection of ultra rare blue 78's

blues i meant...

I have the Joe Bussard compilation which came out a few years ago, absolutely fantastic, one of the best comps released in the past ten years. Worth getting a copy just for the liner notes, even if he is completely bat shit insane.

http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BX3RFX3VL._SS500_.jpg

What are the qualities of post-1930 jazz that are distasteful to these folks? Like what is it about "swing" that ruins it for this guy?

his stories about finding 78 collections off in the hills are practically erotica.

I have to admit, I love the stories. He tells alot of these during the Desperate Man Blues film which is great for what it is -- a film about a long-term record collector. Unlike some of the crazed loners you think of when you think of "78 collector", the film shows Joe just passionate about each record (and music generally), smoking the shit out cigars, dancing around his basement, and ready to talk about and play anything you want to hear. There's even some short clips of Bussard and John Fahey in the 1950s driving down south/west (from Maryland) into the sticks and the old mining communities hunting for records.

Here's a clip with some of Joe's yarns from the short feature about the Dust-to-Digital label (that released the above 78 collection) included on the Desperate Man Blues DVD:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGgvqlCSv1o

Bussard's so old school he doesn't even like swing.

hahaha i offically love this guy! i agree! all that hotsy totsy tomcattin' around stuff is bunko! those swing cats think they're the bee's knees!

That Bussard comp is pretty great -- all wonderful songs/recordings, amazing liner notes, etc. Haven't seen the doc on him yet, tho i think it's on my netflix queue ... but yeah, despite his ummm conservative views on jazz, he definitely doesn't come across as one of those cliched collector scum, really. He seems to really (REALLY) love that music ... and seems to love playing it for people too. nothing really weasal-y about him.

What are the qualities of post-1930 jazz that are distasteful to these folks? Like what is it about "swing" that ruins it for this guy?

They just can't stand the beat.

Rock music is garbage – Straight from hell. Look at the people who do it. Idiots, they’re like animals. 99% of ‘em’s drug heads. The Beatles are crap You ought to step on them. That’s what you do with beetles. It’s just a sign of the times, a bunch of weirdos banging crap. It’s too bad their plane made it over here. If one had to crash that should have been the one. That would have helped our music situation for years.

haha, yes the beatles' arrival here stopped cold the imminent hot jazz revival by mere days! curses!

Geir needs his own documentary.

"It was ALL DOWNHILL after they removed 'Mermaid Smiled' in favor of 'Dear God'!"

"Desperate Man Blues" movie about record collector Joe Bussard
The Bussard documentary is wonderful. Makes you want to drive to Maryland and knock on his door. And if you did, he probably wouldn't let you leave until you heard 20-25 sides.

all that hotsy totsy tomcattin' around stuff is bunko!
haha

these are the 78s i got yesterday. first ones ever. bad habit to get into, but whatevs.

Mohammed Ef Abdel Wahab on Baidaphon. titles in arabic.
Cripple Clarence Lofton "Strut That Thing" / "Monkey Man Blues" repress on Hot Jazz Club of America label.
henry "red" allen "Algiers Stomp" / "When Did You Leave Heaven?" on Vocalion 3302
big maceo "I got the blues" / "Why should I hang Around" on Bluebird 8939
the rev. a.w. nix "black diamond express to hell" parts 1 & 2 on UK Decca 9720
wilmoth houdini & his humming birds "lizzie quit joe" / "drunk and disorderly" on Romeo 751 (this one is rather beat up and grayed.)
faye adams "hurts me to my heart" / "ain't gonna tell" on Herald 434.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-of-40-000-78-RPM-Records-from-The-Music-Exchange_W0QQitemZ320307829509QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item320307829509&_trkparms=72%3A570%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1308&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Christ, that's cheap.

...and here come the last-minute bidders

Damn. 40,000 records for $500. What a bargain.

if i had the space & money i would have bid on that shit in a heartbeat. even with the additional costs of getting them driven from KC to NYC.

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1900-1909.pages/Disque.Arion/image/disque.arion.gif

i still have a big box of these (my dad's collection) in the closet. unfortunately the only known valuable one (elvis' love me tender) cracked right through the middle and broke into pieces. I have no idea what the others are.

New acquisitions:
Pathe-Actuelle 020893 - Original Memphis Five "Four O'Clock Bues" b/w New Synco Jazz Band "Whoah, Tille, Take Your Time"
HJCA 118 Edith Johnson "Ain't No More To Be Said" / "Heart Aching Blues" (Roosevelt Sykes, piano)
Bluebird 7179 Washboard Sam & His Washboard Band "I Love All My Women" / Tommy Griffin "Hey Hey Blues"

Coming from ebay:
Paramount 33023 Louise & Ferera "O Sole Mio" / "Honolulu March"
Okeh 40204 Fiddlin' John Carson "Ain't Gonna Rain No M" / "Alabama Gal"
Conqueror 8170 Tom Darby & Jimmie Tarlton "Let's Be Friends Again" / "When I Take My Vacation In Heaven"

I think this might become a new addictive and potentially expensive new hobby, particularly if I keep buying things on ebay when I'm drunk.

The Washboard Same side of the Bluebird from today sadly sounds worse than I remember it sounding when I played it at the store. Oh well. I traded a pixies t-shirt i don't wear anymore for them.

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1910-1919.pages/Parlophon.1/image/parlophon.1.gif

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1920-1929.pages/Pathe.Actuelle.2/pathe.actuelle.2.htm

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1920-1929.pages/Grey.Gull.1/image/grey.gull.1.gif

yeah, he also did the comp of all laughing records!

i just buy whatever he releases (on bandcamp, usually), it's almost always gold.

yeah, i'm a fan of that approach -- i probably wouldn't buy a fancy physical collection of laughing songs, but $4 on bandcamp is worth it.

i made a Vocalian playlist. 142 songs. roughly 1925 to 1935.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqITlO71C61yE3UW4WAf_96-dqfX_0Zsj

uh, Vocalion. i can't spell.

78 collectors: still weird.

https://www.facebook.com/100000638567220/posts/2813960045301920?sfns=mo

keep the king of weird 78 collectors in your thoughts

Received “Do Not Sell At Any Price” from Mrs HD for Xmas. Really looking forward to it — I like Petrusich’s writing & I like record collecting so it should be a good day’s read.

8 tracks were better?!

It was a good book! I ploughed through it in a day. It got quite interesting toward the end where she began to examine how the tastes of white men had basically shaped the narrative around early 20th century recorded music, what was worth saving & what was worth pursuing to the obsessive degree that collectors of rustic music do... and then it just kind of petered out after a quick detour into the Epirotic Vival (“revival” is too strong a word for something that didn’t have much of a first life). It was a bit frustrating in that way; I’d have liked her journey to have got there by about Chapter 4 and then take us somewhere else, but she’d already clearly spent a lot of money & time on the project & .... how many rabbit holes can you fall down before you have to call time? Well worth a read, esp for those of us who ponder the question posed by the thread title. Sequel, please.

Joe Bussard
59m ·
Hello everyone,
It is disappointing that we have to be posting this. Unfortunately, it has been made extremely obvious that we can no longer leave the planning of visits to Joe’s record room up to him or his guests.
Joe is on hospice care, as of last week. We are unsure how much time he has left, but we are caring for him at home so he is able to spend his remaining time as comfortable as possible and around his records.
While we are happy to have people visit and keep him company, the usual day long trips to Joe’s are over. And this is not the choice of my grandfather - unfortunately, he is never going to understand the severity of this situation or the risks associated with having groups of strangers in his room for 6+ hours a day. So, as his caretakers, this is the decision that is being made and the new rules in place. He simply cannot be entertaining visitors for hours, up and down the stairs, or exerting all his energy with multiple guests.
If you would like to visit Joe, please contact us via FB message or you can email me (em✧✧✧.anderson✧✧✧@gm✧✧✧.c✧✧). Anyone who visits needs to show proof of a negative COVID test within the last 24 hours. If you have any chance of exposure, please be respectful and do not visit. Visits will be limited to two hours and two people. If anyone chooses to not follow these requests, or speaks directly with Joe to plan a visit and does not consult with me or my mom (Joe’s daughter), you will be asked to leave our house immediately.
We thank you for understanding and respecting our wishes during this time. While Joe would love to have dozens of people in our home for hours a day, it simply is not safe for him and we need to put these restrictions in place for his well-being.

:(

Oh no!

Joe Bussard 78 record collector RIP.

Who will get his collection?

This old long read on Bussard by writer Eddie Dean for Washington City Paper was a fascinating take on Bussard and his musical views and approach to life

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/274356/desperate-man-blues/

RIP.

a couple months ago i talked with somebody who visited joe over the summer. i'm guessing he must have gotten in before his family took over scheduling visits. joe sold him a (cracked) blind lemon jefferson record for $20 -- wow! this kid was like 18 and so stoked on it.

he's a legend for the record cleaning video alone.

i loathe to speculate on what his family is dealing with re: his collection

i imagine the dust to digital guys are working with the family

Am now on the hunt for Annette Hanshaw records. The most charming and disarming of the pre-war pop-jazz honky chanteuses.

https://consequence.net/2023/08/internet-archive-lawsuit/

Major record labels including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Capitol have filed a copyright lawsuit against the Internet Archive and its founder Brewster Kahle over the “Great 78 Project,” an initiative aimed to preserve and provide free access to pre-1972 musical works from artists like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong.

In the suit filed Friday (August 11th), the labels claim that the project — which Internet Archive describes as a hub for “the preservation, research and discovery of 78rpm records” — violates copyright laws, and argues that by “transferring copies of those files to members of the public, Internet Archive has reproduced and distributed without authorization Plaintiffs’ protected sound recordings.”

https://great78.archive.org/

in other news, new r crumb yoga mat just dropped

https://cdn.platformart.com/original_images/a119a596-1581-4568-a757-a6818bb52cb2.RCRUMB_YOGAMAT_unrolling_animation_1.gif

https://www.platformart.com/artworks/r-crumb/shape-up-yoga-mat

I guess this is as close to a Dust-to-Digital thread there is, so might as well post this (very cool) news here:

https://dusttodigital.substack.com/p/dust-to-digital-radio-is-here-new

Earlier this year, the Dust-to-Digital Foundation partnered with the University of California, Santa Barbara to begin sharing something extraordinary: 50,000 recordings we spent the past 15 years digitizing from collectors, now available to anyone who wants to hear them. These rare performances and historical recordings can be explored on demand through UCSB’s platform — a deep well of musical discovery.

Today, we are bringing that same material to you in a new way: Dust-to-Digital Radio, broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on the Dust-to-Digital website and via Apple iOS and Android apps.

Throughout 2026, we will be building out the station’s programming to draw from three main sources: the historic recordings the Dust-to-Digital Foundation has rescued and digitized, the Dust-to-Digital label’s catalog of award-winning releases, and the contemporary performances from around the world that we share on Dust-to-Digital’s social media. It’s a continuous journey through time and place, curated by us, always playing. Whether you tune in at noon or midnight, you will encounter music that deserves to be heard — recordings that might have been lost forever, performances etched in time, voices and instruments from across generations and continents. Additionally, the mobile app includes liner notes for what you are hearing, giving context and story to each broadcast. It is an infinite box set in your pocket.

Two years later, and that limited edition yoga mat is still available. It's almost like the Venn diagram of yoga mat owners and Crumb admirers solely overlapped with Aline.

it doesn't seem like it is for sale still? i'm sure there were plenty of people who like yoga and crumb but didn't want to pay $250 for a novelty collector yoga mat