Wayne Evon Busbice (1929-2011), who performed and recorded in the fifties and sixties as Red McCoy, is a fascinating and unusual figure in Country Music history to say the least. He is probably most remembered for two things; being the older brother of the troubled and brilliant bluegrass mandolinist/tenor Buzz Busby, and for having written and recorded a strange pseudo-Rockabilly track, "Rock And Roll Atom". Red and Buzz were Louisiana farm boys whose life trajectories could not have been more stark in their differences. While Buzz led a life riddled with drug and alcohol problems, prison stints, and a shattered career, brother Wayne’s many faceted career involved distinguished military service, advanced higher education, and a long run in music as a performer, recording artist and producer. Late in life he authored a volume on the family history of the Busbice name in Louisiana titled "Uncovering the Secrets of a Southern Family: A Memoir", about which a press release states "But the undercurrent of Wayne's life remained a driving need to uncover the family secret: a killing the adults whispered about when they gathered behind closed doors. Wayne discovered he was living under a false name; Cousin Allen was really his grandfather; and Allen had lived a double life as a fugitive from the Pinkerton detectives of the 1890s." I'm really just scratching the surface of the story of someone who seems to have been a really interesting guy, I think you get the idea...
Wayne Evon Busbice (1929-2011), who performed and recorded in the fifties and sixties as Red McCoy, is a fascinating and unusual figure in Country Music history to say the least. He is probably most remembered for two things; being the older brother of the troubled and brilliant bluegrass mandolinist/tenor Buzz Busby, and for having written and recorded a strange pseudo-Rockabilly track, "Rock And Roll Atom". Red and Buzz were Louisiana farm boys whose life trajectories could not have been more stark in their differences. While Buzz led a life riddled with drug and alcohol problems, prison stints, and a shattered career, brother Wayne’s many faceted career involved distinguished military service, advanced higher education, and a long run in music as a performer, recording artist and producer. Late in life he authored a volume on the family history of the Busbice name in Louisiana titled "Uncovering the Secrets of a Southern Family: A Memoir", about which a press release states "But the undercurrent of Wayne's life remained a driving need to uncover the family secret: a killing the adults whispered about when they gathered behind closed doors. Wayne discovered he was living under a false name; Cousin Allen was really his grandfather; and Allen had lived a double life as a fugitive from the Pinkerton detectives of the 1890s." I'm really just scratching the surface of the story of someone who seems to have been a really interesting guy, I think you get the idea...
