Buzz Busby

Bernarr Graham Busbice (September 6, 1933 – January 5, 2003), known professionally as Buzz Busby, was an American bluegrass musician, known for his mandolin style and high tenor voice. He was nicknamed the "Father of Washington, D.C. Bluegrass".

Early life Busby was born near Eros, Louisiana, the eighth born of the nine children of Oates Oliver (1893-1943) and Talitha Fay (1894-1956) Busbice. In addition to running the family cotton farm, Oates was involved in local politics and Talithe (Fay) was a school teacher. Busbice and his siblings, some of whom were also musicians (notably Wayne Busbice), spent their Saturday nights listening to WSM's Grand Ole Opry and playing for dances with other area musicians. It was likely Busby's first experience with the mandolin came when his neighbor, Allen Crowell, would bring his mandolin over to play during his early childhood. However, he had never heard the mandolin played in the style that Bill Monroe played it. Buzz recalled:"Back in those days Monroe played pretty fast; the hottest mandolin playing I ever heard, and I haven't heard it since. His mandolin playing was heavily influenced by a jazz mandolin player named Paul Buskirk, and I haven't heard him play like that again- or maybe I was just easily impressed then."

Busby's song Lost was released in 1957 on Carol Records.

Busby's classic recordings for the Starday label have been reissued on CD. Recorded between 1956 and 1959, the recordings show Busby in the meat of his career, as he was performing more at this point than any other in his career. Studio musicians include Pete Pike, Charlie Waller, Scotty Stoneman, Don Stover, Carl Nelson and Bill Emerson.

Busby continued to record throughout the 1960s into the 1980s.

The recordings listed below are some of his most notable releases with Starday and WEBCO RECORDS.

Selected discography Going Home (2003) - Released posthumously as a compilation of songs and tunes that Busby recorded for Starday Records from 1957 through 1959. Yesterday and Today (1982) A Pioneer of Traditional Bluegrass ( 1981)

Later life and death Busby was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1997. Shortly thereafter, he was moved to a nursing facility in Maryland. Busby died of heart failure on January 5, 2003, in Catonsville, Maryland.