Biography
Folksinger Bob Frank spent his childhood and formative years in Memphis, taking up guitar performances at local coffeehouses during the first half of the 1960s. Vanderbilt University saw him as a short-term enrollee until administrators dismissed him after he played his instrument inside a dormitory. Rhodes College in Memphis conferred an English degree upon him in 1966. Military conscription followed, sending him overseas for a Vietnam tour that completed his two-year Army service. Released in 1968, Frank wandered through several states, taking jobs on a Colorado ranch and inside a Washington cannery while also residing in Northern California communes. He described himself as "one of the original hippies" and stood out as the sole member of that circle who secured a staff-writer post at Nashville’s Tree music publishing company. Vanguard Records placed him under contract and issued his self-titled debut album in 1972. Positive critical notices failed to generate sales, prompting a rupture with the label when Frank declined to perform any material from the record during a showcase at New York’s Max’s Kansas City nightclub. Frank relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1973 and established residence in Oakland. During the mid-1970s he fronted the Hardheads, whose lineup included Bruce Jackson on bass and Joel Shapiro on fiddle. He later withdrew from professional music altogether, accepting a position as an irrigation specialist with the city of Oakland while raising four children.
Frank’s compositions nevertheless found interpreters among fellow musicians. Memphis acquaintance Jim Dickinson included “Wild Bill Jones” on the 1972 album Dixie Fried. Cowboy performers also embraced his work; throughout the 1970s and early 1980s Chris LeDoux cut “Horses and Cattle,” “The Buckskin Lady,” “Six Bucks a Day,” “Old Tom Horn,” and “Montana Rodeo.” Gary McMahan featured “My Good Samaritan” and “The Buckskin Lady,” the latter co-written with Frank, on the 1980 release Colorado Blue, then added “Horses and Cattle” and “Montana Rodeo” to Saddle ’Em Up and Go! in 1988. The Starlite Ramblers placed “The Buckskin Lady” on their 1981 album Live at Apple’s.
By 2000 Frank learned he had attained cult status through online discussions, with copies of his lone album commanding prices as high as $100. He resumed live appearances and founded Bowstring Records, which put out A Little Gest of Robin Hood—an adaptation of a thirteenth-century Middle English poem—in 2001. Reestablishing contact with producer Jim Dickinson, he completed Keep on Burning (July 16, 2002), his first collection of original material in three decades. Pledge of Allegiance (June 21, 2004) and Ride the Restless Wind (June 17, 2005) followed in rapid order. World Without End (October 26, 2006) paired Frank with John Murry. Memphis International Records issued the compilation Red Neck, Blue Collar on February 19, 2008, drawing tracks from the three preceding solo albums. Dickinson himself continued to record Frank songs, placing “Last Night I Gave Up Smoking” on Free Beer Tomorrow (2002) and “Red Neck, Blue Collar” on Jungle Jim and the Voodoo Tiger (2006). The JPT Scare Band, who had played “Wino” from Bob Frank during the 1970s, finally released a nine-minute rendition on the 2007 album Past Is Prologue. Additional covers encompass “No Reason to Cry” by the Thrifts and “She Pawned Her Diamond for Some Gold” together with “Before the Trash Truck Comes” by Don McGregor. Bob Frank died on July 18, 2019, at the age of 75.
Frank’s compositions nevertheless found interpreters among fellow musicians. Memphis acquaintance Jim Dickinson included “Wild Bill Jones” on the 1972 album Dixie Fried. Cowboy performers also embraced his work; throughout the 1970s and early 1980s Chris LeDoux cut “Horses and Cattle,” “The Buckskin Lady,” “Six Bucks a Day,” “Old Tom Horn,” and “Montana Rodeo.” Gary McMahan featured “My Good Samaritan” and “The Buckskin Lady,” the latter co-written with Frank, on the 1980 release Colorado Blue, then added “Horses and Cattle” and “Montana Rodeo” to Saddle ’Em Up and Go! in 1988. The Starlite Ramblers placed “The Buckskin Lady” on their 1981 album Live at Apple’s.
By 2000 Frank learned he had attained cult status through online discussions, with copies of his lone album commanding prices as high as $100. He resumed live appearances and founded Bowstring Records, which put out A Little Gest of Robin Hood—an adaptation of a thirteenth-century Middle English poem—in 2001. Reestablishing contact with producer Jim Dickinson, he completed Keep on Burning (July 16, 2002), his first collection of original material in three decades. Pledge of Allegiance (June 21, 2004) and Ride the Restless Wind (June 17, 2005) followed in rapid order. World Without End (October 26, 2006) paired Frank with John Murry. Memphis International Records issued the compilation Red Neck, Blue Collar on February 19, 2008, drawing tracks from the three preceding solo albums. Dickinson himself continued to record Frank songs, placing “Last Night I Gave Up Smoking” on Free Beer Tomorrow (2002) and “Red Neck, Blue Collar” on Jungle Jim and the Voodoo Tiger (2006). The JPT Scare Band, who had played “Wino” from Bob Frank during the 1970s, finally released a nine-minute rendition on the 2007 album Past Is Prologue. Additional covers encompass “No Reason to Cry” by the Thrifts and “She Pawned Her Diamond for Some Gold” together with “Before the Trash Truck Comes” by Don McGregor. Bob Frank died on July 18, 2019, at the age of 75.
Albums
