Various Artists - Fonotone Records 1956-1969 (5 Disc Box set)
 Styles: Folk, Blues, Gospel, Traditional, Old-Time Music, Country, Bluegrass, Spirituals, Jug Bands, String Bands
Recorded: 1956-1969
Released: 2005
Label: Dust-to-Digital
File: mp3; 320 Kbps
Size: 886.0 MB
Time: 354:00 min.
Art: full
Joe Bussard (born Joseph E. Bussard, Jr. in Frederick, Maryland, July 11, 1936) is an American collector of 78-rpm records.
Based in Frederick, Maryland, Bussard maintains a collection of more than 25,000 records, primarily of American folk, gospel, and blues from the 1920s and 1930s, believed to be the largest in the world.
He was the subject of a documentary film, Desperate Man Blues, and his collection was mined for a compilation CD, Down in the Basement. He has gleefully shared his collection, which includes many only-known-copies of records (not to mention best-known-copies) with numerous reissue labels as well as with individuals for whom he has taped recordings from his collection for a nominal sum for decades.
From 1956 until 1970, he ran the last 78 rpm record label, Fonotone, which was dedicated to the release of new recordings of old-time music. Among these were the first-ever recordings by guitarist John Fahey, as well as hundreds of other performers.
In 1956 teenaged record collector Joe Bussard decided to track some of his guitar-playing National Guard buddies in his parent's basement in Frederick, MD, and Fonotone Records, America's last operating 78 rpm label, was born. Deliberately anachronistic, Bussard sought to emulate the jug band, blues, and early country 78s that he so treasured (and collected) from the 1920s and 1930s, and he and his friends took on pseudonyms that echoed the names of the artists who recorded during that fabled era at the very dawn of the American recording industry, essentially creating a mythical musical landscape that was stubbornly (even defiantly) out of touch with the technology and musical trends of the 1950s. Part hobby, part hoax, and partly a statement on what Bussard saw as the ongoing degradation of pop music, Fonotone released an impressive number of handmade 78s before Bussard finally officially folded the label in 1969. This elaborate five-disc box set, it comes housed in a cigar box with postcards, an extensive booklet, and even a Fonotone church key bottle opener, finally brings the work of Bussard's little lost label into the digital light of the 21st century. It has to be viewed as a little ironic, given Bussard's aversion to the technological advancements of the recording industry and his complete disgust at almost anything recorded after 1934, but here you have it, all laid out in zeros and ones, and what emerges is an at times brilliant facsimile of Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music. But where Smith's anthology, which collects actual 78s from the 1920s and 1930s (the 1997 reissue of the anthology on CD actually drew on nearly pristine 78s from Bussard's vast personal collection), shines with the mysterious glow of a half-remembered vernacular past, the Fonotone set, which attempts to re-create that era, replaces the mystery with what amounts to cleverness and creative mischief. That doesn't mean that the music presented here isn't interesting, it frequently bursts forth with a wonderfully chaotic energy, but it is a bit like building a scale model of the Grand Coulee Dam out of Popsicle sticks. The end result is fascinating to look at, but being a re-creation, it lacks the intangible presence (and no doubt the utility) of the original. Still, the Fonotone records were a lot of fun, and discovering the real identities behind the pseudonyms is a big part of that fun. Birmingham Bill is actually Mike Seeger. Kid Future is a young Stefan Grossman. B. Sam Firk is Mike Stewart. Blind Robert Ward is Bob Coltman. And the first recordings of iconoclast John Fahey are here, under the name Blind Thomas, in what is a sort of dress rehearsal for his Blind Joe Death persona. Bussard himself appears as part of a whole range of jug and string band groups with names like the Mississippi Swampers, the Tennessee Mess Arounders, the Back Alley Boys, and so on. There are some actual field recordings here, as well, including a pair of tracks from black Appalachian banjo player Clarence Fross that could slip undetected into any Alan Lomax collection. There is also a good deal of bluegrass music, the only postwar musical style ever allowed on a Fonotone record, which is a further irony, since bluegrass probably did more than even rock & roll to kill off the jug and string band tradition that Bussard so admired. Arguably the most effective cuts are a trio of songs that drop the old-time façade long enough to comment directly on contemporary events. Bussard and Bob Coltman's "The Death of John Kennedy," recorded immediately after Kennedy's assassination in November of 1963, is particularly arresting, as is Bussard's "The Flight of Astronaut John Glenn" and Coltman's (as Blind Robert Ward) "The Voyage of Apollo 8" (which Bussard mischievously couples with "Don't Ask for the Moon" on the flip side). By stepping out of the 1920s and addressing the present (yet in a manner and style that mimics the past), Bussard and company actually accomplish what they had been after all along, making the old-time music speak in a contemporary context. In the end, though, most of the music in this fascinating box fails to match its template, but as a stubborn attempt to turn back the musical hands of time, Bussard and Fonotone Records created a brilliant faux universe that works much like that replica of an 18th century schooner perfectly re-created to scale inside a clear glass bottle. The marvel is in the attention to detail, and by default, the imaginary sea it conjures. So here you have it, a mythical 78 rpm universe that mimics a real one, all set forth under the glass of 21st century digital technology. Just suspend belief, add some imagination, and sail away. Don't expect sonar, though, or, heaven forbid, an electric guitar. Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
Booklet
 • Cd 1: Jug In The Shade
01. Chinese Breakdown - Joe Bussard & Oscar Myers
02. Power in the Blood - Sunny Side Sacred Singers
03. Wanda Russell's Blues - Blind Thomas
04. Foggy Bottom Shuffle - Danville Dan
05. I Love You Mama - Tennessee Mess Arounders
06. Soldier's Joy - Happy Johnnie & Family
07. Carry Me Back to the Mountains - Blue Ridge Partners
08. Fox Chase - W. R. Barnes/W. E. Barnes
09. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - Various Artists
10. Baker's Breakdown - Adcock Family
11. Alley Strut - Back Alley Boys
12. Boweavil - Lee Moore
13. Bugle Call Banjo - Bluegrass Travellers
14. Tator Patch Blues - Tennessee Mess Arounders
15. We Need More Rattle Snakes - Milo Way
16. Jug in the Shade - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
17. Lost Indian - Welch Brothers
18. Love Old Memphis - Various Artists
19. Old Country Rock - Backwards Sam Firk
20. The Death of John Kennedy - Bob Coltman/Joe Bussard
21. Onions - Three Blues Boys
22. Paint Brush Blues - Blind Thomas
23. Helter Skelter - Welch Brothers
24. Green Blues - Mississippi Swampers
25. Hannah Open the Door - Georgia Jokers
26. Wildwood Flower - Hillbilly Boys
27. Down on the Delaware - Whitacre Family
Jug In The Shade
 • Cd 2: Flight of Fonotone
01. Crazy Arms - Various Artists
02. Bluegrass - Lucky Chatman & The Ozark Mountain Boys
03. Rome Georgia Bound - Georgia Jokers
04. Blind Blues - Blind Thomas
05. Bluegrass Shuffle - Bluegrass Travellers
06. Cider Time Rag - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
07. Sugar Babe - Happy Johnnie & Family
08. Tearing Down the Laurel - Welch Brothers
09. Up Jumped the Devil - Possum Holler Boys
10. Fox Chase - Clarence Fross
11. Virginia Ramble - Virginia Ramblers
12. Sow Good Seeds - Joe Bussard
13. Nobody's Darling But Mine - Beachley Sisters
14. Everlasting Joy - Brother Smith/Brother Amos
15. Backlander's Hornpipe - Miles Kranssen
16. Jokin' Georgia Rag - Georgia Jokers
17. Stir It Now - Jackson Jug Jumpers
18. Kid Future's Blues - Kid Future
19. R.G. Chimes - Rocky Ridge Ramblers
20. Back Alley Wiggle - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
21. Pig Tail Fling - Possum Holler Boys
22. Down Where the River Bends - Rocky Ridge Ramblers
23. The Flight of Astronaut John Glenn - Joe Bussard & Oscar Myers
24. Hillbilly's Guitar - Hillbilly Boys
25. Memphis Hambone Blues - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
26. Mandolin Blues - Tennessee Mess Arounders
27. Cheat Mountain - Welch Brothers
Flight of Fonotone
 • Cd 3: Some Summer Day
01. Shady Grove - Adcock Family
02. Cumberland Gap - Birmingham Bill
03. Fisher's Hornpipe - Bob Coltman
04. Cackling Hen - Joe Burchfield & Family
05. Barefoot Mamlish Blues - Backwards Sam Firk
06. Black Jack Rag - Two Black Jacks
07. Hot Corn Cold Corn - Adcock Family
08. Tear It Down - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
09. Father Put the Cow Away - Lucky Chatman & The Ozark Mountain Boys
10. Whitacre's Hornpipe - Whitacre Family
11. Banjo Stretch - Bluegrass Travellers
12. Coal Tipple Blues - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
13. Some Summer Day No.2 - Mississippi Swampers
14. Hopalong Peter - Mash Mountain Boys
15. The Crowing Rooster - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
16. Little Boy Stole My Jacket - Whitacre Family
17. Black Cat Blues - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
18. Frankie - Tennessee Joe
19. Striped Stockings - Whitacre Family
20. Short String Strut - Guitar Rascals
21. Voyage of Apollo 8, The - Blind Robert Ward
22. Black Jack Drag - Two Black Jacks
23. Rory Mae - Kid Future
24. Silver Bells - Bob Coltman
25. Weissman Blues - Blind Thomas
Some Summer Day
 • Cd 4: Basement Blues
01. Sara Jane - Adcock Family
02. What She's Got - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
03. Susie - Georgia Jokers
04. Round Town Gals - Robert H. Hubbage & Round Top Mountain Boys
05. Ramblin' Blues - W. E. Barnes
06. Pretty Little Girl - Sizemore
07. Scattin' Rag - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
08. Please Love Me - Joe Bussard
09. Delta Moodish Blues - Backwards Sam Firk
10. Busted Boiler Blues - Oscar Myers
11. Big Legged Mama - Ted Kreh
12. Leather Breeches - Happy Johnnie & Family
13. Dark and Lonely Night Blues - Mississippi Swampers
14. I Don't Love Nobody - Blue Ridge Partners
15. Borrow Love and Go - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
16. Hen Pecked Man - Birmingham Bill
17. Treastle Blues - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
18. Train to Danville - Danville Dan
19. No Special Rider Blues - Backwards Sam Firk
20. Basement Blues - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
21. Drunk Song No.2 - Damien
22. If You Don't Love Me Mama - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
23. Stone Pony - Mississippi Swampers
24. Pueblo's Crew, The - Blind Robert Ward
25. Confessin' - Wild Mountain Boys
26. Poor Boy Blues - Blind Thomas
Basement Blues
 • Cd 5: Wild Mountain Ramble
01. Cripple Creek - Bill Bailey & Frank Stuart
02. Put My Little Shoes Away - Lucky Chatman & The Ozark Mountain Boys
03. Hoppin' the Frets - Adcock Family
04. John Henry - Blind Thomas
05. Nine Pound Hammer - Adcock Family
06. Birmingham Tickle - Birmingham Bill
07. Atlanta Rag - Georgia Jokers
08. Old Hypocrite - Clarence Fross
09. Sugar in the Gourd - Bald Knob Chicken Snatchers
10. I Hear Mother Calling - Lee Moore
11. It's Only the Wind - Beachley Sisters
12. Maple Sugar - Whitacre Family
13. Preach the Gospel - Brother Smith & Brother Amos
14. My Savior Died For Me - W. E. Barnes
15. Sunflower Strut - Danville Dan
16. Hand Me Down My Walking Cane - Joe Bussard & Oscar Myers
17. Lay My Armor Down - Gabriel's Holy Testifiers
18. Old Folks Started It, The - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
19. Done Gone - Whitacre Family
20. Got to Get a Little More - Bob Coltman
21. Wild Mountain Ramble - Wild Mountain Boys
22. Money Green No.2 - Backwards Sam Firk
23. Didn't They Crucify My Lord - Sunny Side Sacred Singers
24. I'm Rollin' On - Carolina Pine Knots
25. Delta Crapatation - Kid Future
26. Jolly Joe's Blues - Jolly Joe's Jug Band
27. Knoxville Blues - Birmingham Bill
28. Gospel Train's a-Comin - Gabriel's Holy Testifiers
29. Sugar Tree Stomp - Possum Holler Boys
Wild Mountain Ramble
Recorded between 1956 & 1969
Compiled by Joe Bussard
Produced by David Anderson, Joe
Bussard & Steven Lance Ledbetter
© 2005 Dust-to-Digital Records
• Jim Kweskin - Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think) •
• Jack Klatt and the Cat Swingers - Mississippi Roll •
Posted by muddyOznake: Bluegrass, Gospel, Jug Band, Old-Timey, String Bands, Traditional Country, Traditional Folk, Various
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