Cargo Records

Fonotone Records

The story of the artists and Fontone, the last 78rpm record label in the land,is told with words, pictures, and music. 5 CDS / 160 Page Perfect Bound Book / 17 Full Colour Postcards / Nickel Plated Fonotone Records Bottle Opener / All housed in authentic cigar box. "A Rare portrait of a long-gone America."

1956: Teenage Record Collector Starts Fonotone
After spending his early years soaking up the old time sound of thousands of 78rpm discs, legendary record collector Joe Bussard decided to make recordings of some guitar picking pals in his local national guard unit. Little did Bussard know that his hobby would turn into a 14 year odyssey that would result in hundreds of custom made 78rom records to be issued on his own Fonotone label out of his parents basement in Frederick, Maryland

2005: Dust To Digital Unearths Vintage Label
In 2005, Bussard contacted Dust To Digital, the record label he worked with a few years earlier in compiling tracks for the Grammy nominated gospel collection, "Goodbye Babylon". What started as a conversation about Fonotone records metamorphisized into the 5CD box set, for which no stone went unturned. Master reel-to-reel tapes, unplayed for decades but still pristine, were painstakingly remastered; forgotten Kodak slides in old cigar boxes were dusted off & retouched; and musicians of all stripes who had disappeared more than 35 years earlier were tracked down. Their stories, and the story of Fontone, the last 78rpm record label in the land, are told with words, pictures, and music. Take a look-see, give it a listen and get a rare portrait of a long gone America.


Significant artists include: B. Sam Firk (a.k.a. Mike Stewart), Birmingham Bill (a.k.a. Mike Seeger), Blind Thomas (a.k.a. John Fahey), Danville Dan (a.k.a. Bob Coltman), Kid Future (a.k.a. Stefan Grossman), Jolly Joe's Jug Band (a.k.a. Joe Bussard), Lucky Chatman's Ozark Mountain Boys (a.k.a. John Duffey), Mississippi Swampers (a.k.a. John Fahey and Mike Stewart). These are the first Fahey recordings ever made!

Track Listing

CD 1
1. "Chinese Breakdown" by Joe Bussard & Oscar Myers
2. "Power in the Blood" by Sunny Side Sacred Singers
3. "Wanda Russell's Blues" by Blind Thomas
4. "Foggy Bottom Shuffle" by Danville Dan
5. "I Love You Mama" by Tennessee Mess Arounders
6. "Soldier's Joy" by Happy Johnny and Family
7. "Carry Me Back to the Mountains" by Blue Ridge Partners
8. "Fox Chase" by W.R. Barnes and W.E. Barnes
9. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" by Lucky Chatman's Ozark Mountain Boys
10. "Baker's Breakdown" by The Adcock Family
11. "Alley Strut" by Back Alley Boys
12. "Boweavil" by Lee Moore
13. "Bugle Call Banjo" by Bluegrass Travelers
14. "Tator Patch Blues" by Tennessee Mess Arounders
15. "We Need More Rattle Snakes" by Milo Way
16. "Jug in the Shade" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
17. "Lost Indian" by Welch Brothers
18. "Love Old Memphis" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
19. "Old Country Rock" by B. Sam Firk
20. "The Death of John Kennedy" by Bob Coltman and Joe Bussard
21. "Onions" by Three Blues Boys
22. "Paint Brush Blues" by Blind Thomas
23. "Helter Skelter" by Welch Brothers
24. "Green Blues" by Mississippi Swampers
25. "Hannah Open the Door" by Georgia Jokers
26. "Wildwood Flower" by Hillbilly Boys
27. "Down on the Delaware" by Whitacre Family

CD 2
1. "Crazy Arms" by Bill Hoffman and Joe Bussard
2. "Bluegrass" by Lucky Chatman's Ozark Mountain Boys
3. "Rome Georgia Bound" by Georgia Jokers
4. "Blind Blues" by Blind Thomas
5. "Bluegrass Shuffle" by Bluegrass Travelers
6. "Cider Time Rag" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
7. "Sugar Babe" by Happy Johnny and Family
8. "Tearing Down the Laurel" by Welch Brothers
9. "Up Jumped the Devil" by Possum Holler Boys
10. "Fox Chase" by Clarence Fross
11. "Virginia Ramble" by Virginia Ramblers
12. "Sow Good Seeds" by Joe Bussard
13. "Nobody's Darling but Mine" by Beachley Sisters
14. "Everlasting Joy" by Brother Smith and Brother Amos
15. "Backlander's Hornpipe" by The Backlanders
16. "Jokin' Georgia Rag" by Georgia Jokers
17. "Stir It Now" by Jackson Jug Jumpers
18. "Kid Future's Blues" by Kid Future
19. "R.G. Chimes" by Rocky Ridge Ramblers
20. "Back Alley Wiggle" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
21. "Pig Tail Fling" by Possum Holler Boys
22. "Down Where the River Bends" by Rocky Ridge Ramblers
23. "The Flight of Astronaut John Glenn" by Joe Bussard and Oscar Myers
24. "Hillbilly's Guitar" by Hillbilly Boys
25. "Memphis Hambone Blues" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
26. "Mandolin Blues" by Tennessee Mess Arounders
27. "Cheat Mountain" by Welch Brothers

CD 3
1. "Shady Grove" by The Adcock Family
2. "Cumberland Gap" by Birmingham Bill
3. "Fisher's Hornpipe" by Coltman and Taylor
4. "Cackling Hen" by Joe Birchfield and Family
5. "Barefoot Mamlish Blues" by B. Sam Firk
6. "Black Jack Rag" by Two Black Jacks
7. "Hot Corn Cold Corn" by The Adcock Family
8. "Tear It Down" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
9. "Father Put the Cow Away" by Happy Johnny and Family
10. "Whitacre's Hornpipe" by Whitacre Family
11. "Banjo Stretch" by Bluegrass Travelers
12. "Coal Tipple Blues" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
13. "Some Summer Day No. 2" by Mississippi Swampers
14. "Hopalong Peter" by Mash Mountain Boys
15. "The Crowing Rooster" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
16. "Little Boy Stole My Jacket" by Whitacre Family
17. "Black Cat Blues" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
18. "Frankie" by Tennessee Joe
19. "Striped Stockings" by Whitacre Family
20. "Short String Strut" by Guitar Rascals
21. "The Voyage of Apollo 8" by Blind Robert Ward
22. "Black Jack Drag" by Two Black Jacks
23. "Rory Mae" by Kid Future
24. "Silver Bells" by Coltman and Taylor
25. "Weissman Blues" by Blind Thomas

CD 4
1. "Sara Jane" by The Adcock Family
2. "What She's Got" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
3. "Susie" by Georgia Jokers
4. "Round Town Gals" by Robert H. Cubbage and Round Top Mountain Boys
5. "Ramblin' Blues" by W.E. Barnes
6. "Pretty Little Girl" by Sizemore and Smith
7. "Scattin' Rag" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
8. "Please Love Me" Bill Hoffman and Joe Bussard
9. "Delta Moodish Blues" by B. Sam Firk
10. "Busted Boiler Blues" by Oscar Myers
11. "Big Legged Mama" by Ted Kreh
12. "Leather Breeches" by Happy Johnny and Family
13. "Dark and Lonely Night Blues" by Mississippi Swampers
14. "Borrow Love and Go" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
15. "I Don't Love Nobody" by Blue Ridge Partners
16. "Hen Pecked Man" by Birmingham Bill
17. "Trestle Blues" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
18. "Train to Danville" by Danville Dan
19. "No Special Rider Blues" by B. Sam Firk
20. "Basement Blues" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
21. "Drunk Song No. 2" by Damien
22. "If You Don't Love Me Mama" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
23. "Stone Pony" by Mississippi Swampers
24. "The Pueblo's Crew" by Blind Robert Ward
25. "Confessin'" by Wild Mountain Boys
26. "Poor Boy Blues" by Blind Thomas

CD 5
1. "Cripple Creek" by Bill Bailey & Frank Stuart
2. "Put My Little Shoes Away" by Lucky Chatman's Ozark Mountain Boys
3. "Hoppin' the Frets" by The Adcock Family
4. "John Henry take 1" by Mason O'Bavion
5. "Nine Pound Hammer" by The Adcock Family
6. "Birmingham Tickle" by Birmingham Bill
7. "Atlanta Rag" by Georgia Jokers
8. "Old Hypocrite" by Clarence Fross
9. "Sugar in the Gourd" by Bald Knob Chicken Snatchers
10. "I Hear Mother Calling" by Lee Moore
11. "It's Only the Wind" by Beachley Sisters
12. "Maple Sugar" by Whitacre Family
13. "Preach the Gospel" by Brother Smith and Brother Amos
14. "My Savior Died for Me" by W.R. Barnes and W.E. Barnes
15. "Sunflower Strut" by Danville Dan
16. "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" by Joe Bussard & Oscar Myers
17. "Lay My Armor Down" by Gabriel's Holy Testifiers
18. "The Old Folks Started It" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
19. "Done Gone" by Whitacre Family
20. "Got To Get a Little More" by Bob Coltman
21. "Wild Mountain Ramble" by Wild Mountain Boys
22. "Money Green No. 2" by B. Sam Firk
23. "Didn't They Crucify My Lord" by Sunny Side Sacred Singers
24. "I'm Rollin' On" by Carolina Pine Knots
25. "Delta Crapation" by Kid Future
26. "Sugar Tree Stomp " by Possum Holler Boys