Kip Lornell and Tom Mindte join forces and resources to pen a rational, delightful, distressing and enlightening tale of one of America’s groundbreaking musicians. Buzz Busby is noted as the man who brought bluegrass music to Washington, DC, his zeal solidly implanting it there.
 
Bernarr Graham Busbice was born in 1933 in Louisiana. His father farmed while also delving into politics, and his mother was a teacher. The boy, who was the eighth of nine children, excelled in elementary school, developed a rebellious streak, and maintained a sincere fascination with the music that he and his family listened to on the Grand Ole Opry. The skill and speed with which Bill Monroe played mandolin sealed Busby’s lifelong dedication to that instrument, and he and a few friends began performing locally. 

"Kip Lornell and Tom Mindte join forces and resources to pen a rational, delightful, distressing and enlightening tale of one of America’s groundbreaking musicians."

After being valedictorian of his high school class, Busby was hired by the FBI and moved to Washington, DC. Though his life would entail hundreds of moves and changes, the DC area became his most consistent home. He performed and recorded hundreds of songs and tunes with an abundance of other well-known practitioners of what came to be known as bluegrass --- sounds and lyrics combining contemporary music culture with the ancient mores of country (“hillbilly”) sounds and sentiments. Channels for his efforts included Bluegrass Unlimited, Starday Records and WAMU.

Unfortunately, Busby was afflicted from adolescence with an attraction to alcohol. This, in conjunction with other addictions, often took him from well-deserved fame to serious roadblocks --- hospitalizations, jail time and familial upheavals --- on his winding pathway. In 1985, he began to tape an audio autobiography, quoted liberally in Lornell and Mindte’s deftly drawn portrait, including Busby’s declaration that “[w]hen you’re a legend, that means there are a lot of myths about you.” He intended to recount his adventures with absolute honesty, and this powerful presentation faithfully upholds that wish.
 
Both authors bring relevant distinctions to this ponderous project. Lornell is Professor Emeritus of Music History and Culture at George Washington University, and his previous works (such as CAPITAL BLUEGRASS) provide strong support for this tribute. Mindte is a well-known bluegrass music maker whose specialty, the mandolin, his DC hometown, and his career as a producer at Patuxent Music led to his direct, personal connection of many years with Busby. His guardianship of Busby’s 60-hour autobiography provided fascinating fodder for this project, as well as his interviews with at least 30 of Busby’s musical collaborators and family members accumulated over his 15 years of country-wide, investigative travel. 
 
Longtime fans of Busby, as well as those wanting to be introduced to his role in the establishment of the bluegrass genre, will be grateful to Lornell and Mindte for their diligence in arraying a wide range of his struggles, unique viewpoints, and undeniable, hard-won and deeply deserved musical accomplishments.