Born December 22, 1928, in
Elizabeth, New Jersey, Buck rose to prominence as the leading figure in the preservation and advancement of authentic traditional jazz. He started out selling newspapers during
World War II and converting the profits into
war bonds. He took this money and recorded his first session with his favorite musicians,
Wild Bill Davison and
Tony Parenti on
Jazzology Records. Soon after, he began recording
New Orleans style jazz on
GHB Records. He began yearly pilgrimages to New Orleans in 1961, cementing his relationship with the city by immersing himself in the culture and recording the artists who lived in the city. Buck developed a passion for radio after hosting a radio show in college, which he dubbed,
Jazzology. This early involvement in radio led him to buy many small, under performing radio stations beginning with
WCOS in
Columbia, South Carolina, and turn them around with new formats and improved management. All of his profits from this went to support his growing list of record labels. He started and bought many labels in order to make sure this music would survive. He issued recordings of most forms of jazz through nine labels:
Jazzology, GHB,
Circle,
Southland,
American Music,
Black Swan,
Audiophile,
Progressive, and Solo Art. According to his son, Buck's passion, love, and enthusiasm for jazz never diminished. He and his wife, Nina moved the operation to New Orleans in 1987 and in 1989 expanded further by opening the Palm Court Jazz Café, which became an important part of New Orleans jazz culture under the management of his wife. The GHB Jazz Foundation houses the record business and is located on the second floor of the same building in the
French Quarter. As of 4–2–2020, Buck's weekly program
Jazzology continues to air on WAVO 1150-AM in Rock Hill, SC on Sundays from 4-5PM. He produced nearly 700 broadcasts during his years in New Orleans. The programs were originally recorded on cassettes. In recent years, most of the programs were transferred to compact discs. An archive of these programs is kept in New Orleans and at the WAVO studios in Charlotte, NC. Buck's sign off was "This is recordially yours, George Buck. Wishing you the best of everything and good jazz listening. Bye bye and buy bonds!" == Buck companies ==