I am sad to say one of the titans of old time, blues and jazz record collecting has let us. Joe Bussard of Frederick, Maryland was unique. Beginning in the 1940s with a liking for Hank Williams, Joe went on to amass over his long life one of the finest collections of 78 rpm records in the Western Hemisphere. He was also a great friend to me and hundreds of others who loved the music. He was endlessly generous with his time and happy to sit spinning records all day and half the night.
The Washington Post did a nice obit with pictures:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/09/30/joe-bussard-record-collector-dead/

The New York Times did a good one too. They give some idea of this man’s eminence and how unforgettable he was.
I first met Joe in, I think, February 1962, when Bud Taylor of Annapolis, Maryland, met me in Frederick so he could drive me to Joe’s house—he was then living with his parents on the town green. He had already begun his one-man record label, Fonotone (the last company specializing in issuing 78 rpm recordings) and Bud and I recorded a few 5-string banjo duets.
I was lucky enough to record a great many more Fonotone sides, some solos but mostly quartets of what became our band: Joe, guitar and jug, the late Jerry Marcum, guitar, the late Oscar Myers, mouth harp, and me on banjo, guitar, mandolin, and fiddle (not all at once) under various names: Georgia Jokers, Gabriel’s Holy Testifiers and so on.
I’ve got morre to say but want to get this much posted. Though it seems Joe has never (I just searched) appeared on this board before, Mudcatters deserve to know more about him.

Bob