Joe Bussard: Desperate Man Blues - Discovering the Roots of American Music

Synopsis of Joe Bussard: Desperate Man Blues - Discovering the Roots of American Music

In 1948, when Joe Bussard was twelve years old, someone gave him a stack of old records which included some rare discs by country music legend Jimmie Rodgers. When Bussard couldn't find more Jimmie Rodgers material at his local record store, he began searching for them at flea markets, antique shops and by inquiring door to door; this was the beginning of a lifelong obsession for Bussard, whose love of pre-war country, blues, jazz, Cajun, gospel and bluegrass sounds grew into the world's largest collection of vintage 78's. Bussard owns more that 25,000 records, including the only existing copies of many important titles, and he's been eager to share his finds with the world by playing them on his own radio show (as a teenager, he built a pirate radio station in his family's basement), selling tape recordings to music fans, and allowing record companies to use items from his collection for reissues of vintage music. Desperate Man Blues: Discovering The Roots Of American Music is a documentary profile of Joe Bussard, in which the collector speaks about his passion for vintage music, recalls his adventures in record hunting, voices his opinions on contemporary music ("rock 'n' roll is a cancer on music"), and joyously plays some of his favorite sides. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:

180 mins

Categories:

Documentary

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