(MUSIC.) Albums chronicling the life of drummer Billy Gussak. Hundreds of photographs and other ephemera mounted loosely in 9 quarto albums; condition varies, with many photographs detached. Various places, bulk 1922-1982 William Samuel "Billy" Gussak (1906-1992) was a rock and jazz drummer, best known for his session work on Bill Haley's 1954 hit "Rock Around the Clock." Two of these albums are largely devoted to his musical career, with Gussak's captions and notations. They begin with a 1922 shot of his first band, the Big Time Novelty Band (he notes "it was a novelty if we got paid"). A 1925 shot shows him in uniform with a baseball team in Tannersville, NY. Several shots place him in Havana, and he also played with bands on steamship cruises, often in ridiculous costumes as part of masquerade nights. The albums show Gussak on the road as late as 1968, when he is seen with José Ferrer in a production of "Man of La Mancha." Gussak was also an inventor; two of his percussion patents dated 1966 and 1971 are included, and one photo shows him with his "1st invention, the Guzzake, 1938." Several snapshots show Gussak demonstrating his percussion devices.
Also included are family albums with photographs extending from the 1890s through 1982, some showing his parents before their emigration from Russia, through his childhood in Brooklyn, and his later life in Deal, NJ.