Jasper Bisbee

Jasper "Jep" Bisbee (July 29, 1843 - August 10, 1935) was an American old time fiddler. He did not play until the 1920's. He was born in Ossian, New York, on July 29, 1843, the youngest son of Alanson and Mary C. (Bagley) Bisbee. In 1858, the family moved to Ionia County, Michigan, and for several years Jep worked on the farm, but it seemed that he had interests other than farming. It is said that his older brother made him a fiddle from an apple tree limb and horsehair, and he began to learn tunes from his mother’s whistling. On 28 November 1923 Thomas Edison, founder of Edison Records invited Bisbee, his son, Earl and his daughter Beulah into the Edison studio, where on the first day with Earl (bass) and Beulah (piano) recorded a few songs, but they were not published. On the second day Bisbee was accompanied only by his daughter. Together they played Opera Reel, The Devil's Dream, Money Musk with Variations, The Girl I Left Behind Me, McDonald's Reel and College Hornpipe. Bisbee required for each piece three takes, so alone on the second day were 18 bands together. For a man of his age was certainly a remarkable achievement