Career
Bussard maintains a collection of more than 15,000 records, primarily of American folk, gospel, and blues from the 1920s and 1930s, believed to be one of the largest (and best quality) in the world. He was the subject of a documentary film, Desperate Manitoba Blues, and his collection was mined for a compilation Civil Defense, 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. A five-Civil Defense anthology of Fonotone releases was issued in 2005 by Dust-to-Digital.
Bussard currently produces a weekly music program titled Country Classics for Georgia Technical"s radio station, WREK Atlanta. He has radio programs on three other stations, including WPAQ-Department of Administration and Management 740 in Mount Airy, North Carolina, WELD-Department of Administration and Management 690 in Fisher, West Virginia, and WTHU-Department of Administration and Management 1450 in Thurmont, Doctor of Medicine. His dislike for modern music, especially hip hop and rock and roll, has been well documented.