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Chanteur et mandoliniste Bluegrass US né Bernarr
Graham Busbice, le 6
Septembre 1933 à Eros
(Louisiane). Buzz Busby fut un musicien régulier sur le Hayloft Hoedown (WRC-TV, Washington, D.C.) en
1954-1955 et au Louisiana Hayride (KWKH, Shreveport, LA.) en 1955-1956.
Buzz a formé avec son frère Wayne le duo
des Busby Brothers. Il est décédé le 5 Janvier 2003 à Catonsville (Maryland).
The nature
of chatter in the research lab changes with the arrival of new personnel, in
this case a temporary replacement on filing duty, kind of an opinionated hippie.
"Hey, man, no guy named Buzz would ever say anything this, like...uh...negative,"
was his unwanted take on the controversy surrounding a harsh quotation that
seems to have been attributed to the wrong Busby brother.
The hippie had been hired because of supposed expertise on bluegrass, especially
independent labels such as Pinecastle. Fond of the Busby Brothers, he had made
up a marketing slogan: "Double your buzz with Busby." "It was horrible — best I
can say for it" was the exact quote in dispute following an effort by Dr. Wayne
Busbice — the Wayne Busby in the Busby
Brothers — to correct factual errors in biographical information pertaining to
the family.
Although there would be no argument concerning the veracity of "It was horrible
— best I can say for it" had it been said in description of the hippie
assistant's slogan for the Busby Brothers,
Wayne Busby denies having been the brother who actually made this comment
about the family's far from idyllic rural lifestyle. This family with nine
children struggled through life on a family farm, picking cotton and raising
food both to eat and to sell in order to survive. "It sounds like something Buzz
might have said," Dr. Busbice conjectured in 2006. "It definitely does not
reflect my opinion," he concludes firmly.
Savvy musicologists are moving credit for the comment over to Buzz Busby's
column, alongside writer Earl Thompson and "It's a tough life if you don't
weaken."
"No way Buzz would have said that!" The hippie continued to stand firm although
otherwise quick to accept the truthfulness of new data coming in concerning Buzz
Busby, i.e., the latest buzz. Not that the temporary assistant's opinion
mattered; he would be gone relatively quickly. Faced with a great deal of other
negative incidents in this particular artist's career, so would any kind of
happy-go-lucky vibe associated with dudes nicknamed Buzz. In 1961, for example,
narcotics detectives claimed the musician's nickname had led them to him,
resulting in a conviction for forging an amphetamines prescription and a three-year
prison sentence, eventually shortened with the help of legislators who liked
bluegrass picking.
It is this type of detail that makes sections of the Buzz Busby biography seem
as lurid as a film noir. One paragraph begins, practically drooling: "Buzz Busby,
whose professional career would go down the tubes due to alcoholism and drug
addiction...."
"Buzz Busby, who hails from the town of Eros. Sounds like he would be loads of
fun to hang out with, if he would just put that damn mandolin down," was how
this story started out originally, instantly leading into a major factual error.
"We're lucky we're not in jail," the entire research staff was informed after
receiving new information directly from a Busbice family member. "We have made a
mistake concerning the FBI." While it seems commonly reported in material
concerning the early days of country and western on radio that Buzz Busby was an
"ex-FBI agent," in reality he apparently never finished the training. He should
be described more accurately as an "FBIWB" or "FBI-wanna-be."
Furthermore there is a gross inaccuracy in data concerning something of a holy
grail in these situations, that first guitar. "He was born Bernarr Busbice," the
buzz-ography begins innocently enough. "The youngest...and at an early age was
exposed to music, including helpful guitar lessons from an older brother on the
family Sears mail-order guitar."
That older brother would be known professionally as
Wayne Busby, and he has this to say: "Regarding
the 'Sears mail order guitar' the truth is more interesting. A neighbor gave us
that guitar — we earned it by picking cotton for him for an entire week."
One of the main research assistants, something of a shadowy character, needs to
be checked out for possible conspiracies regarding product placement for Sears:
the chain store may have been making deals involving equipment he uses in his
hobbies, chainsaws and so forth.
The facts become more reliable once guitars are in hand. A brother band
developed as Wayne Busby and LeMoyne Busby
began fooling around on guitars, passing their acquired knowledge of country
music over to their younger brother, all of eight at the time. The family grew
up listening to radio shows such as Louisiana Hayride — a show that Buzz
Busby would wind up appearing on, although accounts of the era sometimes place
other Busby siblings in the lineup.
With some rudiments of music under his belt, Buzz Busby taught himself mandolin.
His reputation was mostly made with the instrument in the little bitty case,
although his bank account benefited even more from his activities as a
songwriter, resulting in several strong country hits and the subsequent arrival
of royalty checks. Busby was part of a novelty duo called Buzz and Jack with the
talented songwriter and performer Jack
Clement in 1953 and in the following years was featured with regularity on
the television show Hayloft Hoedown on WRC-TV out of Washington, D.C. He
was a regular from 1955 through 1956 with his group the Bayou Boys on the
aforementioned Louisiana Hayride, a popular show which broadcast on
Shreveport's KWKH.
Busby leased out one of his early recordings for the indie Jiffy label to
bluegrass enthusiast Bill Carrol during this period. This turned out to be a bit
of bluegrass history as it was the acorn from which a grand tree known as the
Rebel label grew. In the '60s, this label would make bluegrass history and help
establish an entire new generation of artists. Busby seems to have his foot in
bluegrass legend even when not intending to, in fact even when things happen
that nobody would ever plan such as a car accident. In 1957, he and banjo
hotshot Eddie Adcock got into a
pile-up in the D.C. area and were hospitalized. A pickup band was thrown
together to play a gig the pair had booked the next day, and that band worked
out so well it turned into the Country
Gentlemen, one of the biggest bluegrass groups ever.
Busby continued selling his original songs and wound up producing a series of
hits through the '50s and '60s. If country music thrives on melodrama and
tragedy, Busby seems to be hitting the main vein with titles such as "Lost" and
"This World's No Place to Live, But It's Home," while some of his other subjects
suggest he might be writing music for a weatherman friend: "Cold and Windy
Night," "Lonesome Wind," "Blue Vietnam Skies." There was also the playful side
to Busby, which made him a natural for the kind of rockabilly material that many
country and bluegrass artists of his generation toyed with. "Zzztt" was an
off-the-wall regional single with Busby and partner Wink Lewis, and he also
liked to produce entertaining instrumentals such as "Mandolin Twist" and "Talking
Banjo." The hit songs, combined with a strong mandolin style, kept Busby working
steadily on the country and bluegrass scenes, on his own and in the groups of
artists such as Jim Eanes and
Bill Emerson. Of special interest was a
duo with wonderful banjo wizard Don Stover. Following a long battle with
Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and major heart surgery in the early '90s, Buzz
Busby died of cardiac arrest on January 5, 2003.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Busby
Talents : Vocals, Songwriter, Mandolin, Guitar
Style musical : Bluegrass
LOST (1955)
 (first
version)
ROCK AND
ROLL FEVER (1957)
TALKING
BANJO (1958)
LOST
(1958)
Mandolin
Twist (1966)
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Years in activity :
| 1910 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 2000 | 10 | 20 |
DISCOGRAPHY
Singles
| 1955 | SP JIFFY 207 (US) | . |
Buzz BUSBY & The BAYOU BOYS -
Lost
/ Just Me And
The Juke Box |
| 1957 | SP CAROL 101 (US) | . |
Buzz BUSBY & The BAYOU BOYS -
Lost
/ Just Me And
The Juke Box |
| 1957 | SP CAROL 103 (US) | . | Buzz BUSBY & The BAYOU BOYS - Your Red Wagon / That Guy's Gotta Go |
| 1957 | SP SPEAKS S-101/102 (US) | . | Graham B. -
Rock And Roll Fever
/ I'll
Always Wonder Why |
| 03/1958 | SP STARDAY 45-355 (US) | . |
Buzz BUSBY & The BAYOU BOYS -
Talking Banjo
/ Lonesome Road |
| 1958 | SP STARDAY 45-408 (US) | . | Banjo Whiz / Mandolin Tango |
| 11/1958 | SP STARDAY 45-409 (US) | . |
Lost
/ Lonesome Wind |
| 04/1959 | SP STARDAY 45-425 (US) | . | Me And The Jukebox / Going Home |
| 09/1959 | SP STARDAY 45-452 (US) | . | Reno Bound / Where Will This End |
| 03/1960 | SP STARDAY 45-483 (US) | . | Cold And Windy Night / Don't Come Runnin' Back To Me |
| 06/1960 | SP EMPIRE 45-506 (US) | . |
Going Back To
Dixie
 (Wayne BUSBY) /
Just For Me
(BUSBY
BROTHERS - WAYNE & BUZZ) |
| 1961 | SP EMPIRE 45-507 (US) | . | Pretty Polly / Don't Leave Me Alone |
| 1965 | SP ALMANAC 801 (US) | . | The Dream / It's Looking Like Rain |
| 1966 | SP REBEL F-258 (US) | . |
Mandolin Twist
/ Blue Vietnam Skies |
| 1970 | SP REBEL F-297 (US) | . | Buzz BUSBY & Leon MORRIS - Just For A While / Scramble |
| 1970 | SP WORLD MUSIC 611 (US) | . | Buzz BUSBY & Leon MORRIS & The BLUEGRASS ASSOCIATIONS - Warm Red Wine / Mule Skinner Blues |
| 1972 | SP JAN JR-004 (US) |
 |
Buzz BUSBY & The BAYOU BOYS - The Flames /The Rambler |
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Unissued Tracks
| 19?? | FERNWOOD unissued | Rock And Roll Fever [alt. vers.] |
Albums
| 1962 | LP 12" Mount Vernon MUSIC MVM 176 (US) |
 |
Country Comedy - SONGS & FROLICS BY HAM & SCRAM - FEATURING BUZZ BUSBY - Deep Freeze Mama Blues / Baby Baby / Take Back Your Heart (I Ordered Liver) / Pearly Gates / The Funniest Sight I Ever Did See / I Do Mean Moo / Don't Ever Leave Me Alone / Pretty Polly / Just For Me / Just A Little Talk With Jesus |
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| 01/1975 | LP 12" ROUNDER 0031 (US) |
 |
HONKY TONK BLUEGRASS - Buzz BUSBY & Leon MORRIS - At The End / Flat Creek / I Stood On The Bridge At Midnight / Long Way From Home / Fly, Bird, Fly / This World's No Place To Live In (But It's Home) / Jack's Bass / Me And The Jukebox / Rambler / Life To Go / Scramble / Travelin' Down This Lonesome Road / Just For A While / All The Good Times Are Past & Gone | ||
| 1981 | LP 12" WEBCO WLPS 0101 (US) |
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| 1981 | LP 12" Old Homestead OHS 90145 (US) |
 |
Frank Necessary, Al Jones And Buzz Busby - What Do You Know About Heartaches / Don't Come Running / Marching Through Dixie / Stone Wall / Quincy's Special / Stoney Mountain, West Virginia / Silver Dew On The Bluegrass / South To Old Mexico / Nobodys Darling But Mine / It's A Long Long Way / Banjo Riff / Long Black Limousine / She's Just A Cute Thing / Plant Some Flowers By My Grave |
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| 09/1983 | LP 12" WEBCO WLPS 0103 (US) |
 |
THE BLUEGRASS SOUNDS OF BUZZ BUSBY - YESTERDAY & TODAY - BUZZ BUSBY YESTERDAY : Lost / Me And The Juke Box / Talking Banjo / The Lonesome Road / MacDonald's Farm According To Ham And Scram / Gone Home / Theme / BUZZ BUSBY TODAY : Bradshaw Mountain Breakdown / Lovin' Arms / The Dream / Gathering Storm / Dim Lights Thick Smoke / Banks Of The Ohio / Death's Other Side | ||
| 05/1986 | LP 12" WEBCO WLPS 0117 (US) |
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LOUISIANA GRASS - The BUSBY BROTHERS - Headin' Back To Dixie / Maple On The Hill / Heartaches By The Number / There's A New Moon Over My Shoulder / Jumpin' Gully Louisiana / White Water Creek / Let's Be Sweethearts Again / My Sweet Little Pretty Brown Eyes / No Vacancy / All The World Is Lonely Now / Legend Of The Rebel Soldier / Scothorn Branch | ||
| 02/1988 | LP 12" WEBCO WLPS 0125 (US) |
 |
STAINED GLASS BLUEGRASS - The BUSBY BROTHERS - (He'll Be) Walking By Your Side / When I Reach My Journey's End / Power In The Blood / When God Calls You Away / Talk To The Lord In Prayer / I Am Thine O Lord / Words / Supper Time / Calling Me / Leaning On The Everlasting Arms / I Still Like The Songs That Mama Sang / Wicked Path Of Sin | ||
| 2003 | CD STARDAY SD-0123-2 (US) |
 |
GOING HOME - GREATEST STARDAY RECORDINGS - Talking Banjo / Whose Red Wagon / The Lonesome Road / Buzz's Ramble / Lonesome Wind / Lost / Mandolih Tango / I Don't Mind / Banjo Whiz / Windy Strings / Going Home / Me And The Juke Box / Cold And Windy Night / Reno Bound / Where Will This End / Tragic Highway / Don't Come Running Back To Me / I'll Cry Tomorrow / Love Is A Stranger |
© Rocky Productions 10/08/2022
