Joseph Edward Bussard Jr. (July 11, 1936 – September 26, 2022) was an American collector of 78-rpm records. He was noted for owning more than 15,000 records, primarily from the 1920s and 1930s, at the time of his death.
Early life
Bussard was born in Frederick, Maryland, on July 11, 1936. His father managed the family's farm supply business, and his mother, Viola (Culler), was a housewife. Bussard began collecting when he was seven or eight, starting with Gene Autry records.
Bussard was the subject of a documentary film, Desperate Man Blues (2003), and his collection was mined for a compilation CD, Down in the Basement. His daughter reckoned that a minimum of 150 individuals visited their home annually to hear him play songs and recount how he obtained his records.
Dust-to-Digital Foundation and UC Santa Barbara formed a partnership to make these recordings available to the public. In November 2025 more than 5000 songs from the foundation’s collection of over 50,000 songs were added to the Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) database. While this release contains music from a variety of collections, the majority of the songs are from Bussard’s. He had radio programs on other stations: including WPAQ-AM 740 in Mount Airy, North Carolina, and WDVX in Knoxville, Tennessee. His dislike for modern music, especially hip hop and rock and roll, was well documented.
In a 2022 interview, Bussard cited the recording, "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" by Blind Willie Johnson, as one of the greatest recordings of all time. He visited a flea market in Emmitsburg, Maryland a month before his death to look for more 78s, but left empty-handed. She worked as a hairdresser and cosmetologist to support her family. They remained married for 34 years until her death in 1999. Together, they had a daughter.