Bernarr Graham Busbice (1933–2003), known professionally as Buzz Busby, was an American bluegrass musician nicknamed the “Father of Washington, D.C. Bluegrass”. Influenced by Bill Monroe, Busby formed a band with Rot Fuller in the late 1940s. In 1951, he moved to Washington D.C. to work for the FBI and formed the Tennessee Troupers. Busby and Pete Pike won first place at the National Country Music Championship in 1954, leading to a daily television show on WRC-TV until March 1955. After a serious 1957 automobile accident, Busby performed locally in the Washington-Baltimore area until the early 1990s. His discography includes the song “Mandolin Twist” (1965) and the albums Yesterday and Today (1982) and Going Home (2003). Busby died of heart failure on January 5, 2003, in Catonsville, Maryland.
