Frank Frost maintained an unwavering commitment to raw Delta funk in his atmospheric juke joint blues across his entire career, yet his path carried him far beyond Mississippi roots. After relocating to St. Louis in 1951, he first studied harmonica under Little Willie Foster and later under the legendary Sonny Boy Williamson, who brought him along on tour as a guitarist from 1956 through 1959. Drummer Sam Carr, Frost’s longtime collaborator, had already drawn him into leading a combo back in 1954 and later joined Williamson’s circle as well.
Once their time with Williamson ended in 1959, Frost and Carr established themselves in Lula, Mississippi. Guitarist Jack Johnson completed the lineup in 1962 after an impromptu appearance with the pair at Clarksdale’s Savoy Theater. Their seamless chemistry prompted Memphis producer Sam Phillips to launch a brief return-to-the-blues project later that year. Issued on the Phillips International imprint of Sun as Frank Frost & the Night Hawks, Hey Boss Man! delivered a set of unyielding Southern blues that stood apart from prevailing trends.
Scotty Moore, formerly Elvis Presley’s guitarist, helmed Frost’s subsequent 1966 sessions in Nashville for Jewel Records. With session bassist Chip Young added to the core trio, the group’s cohesive down-home interplay remained intact; Frost’s “My Back Scratcher,” a variation on Slim Harpo’s “Baby Scratch My Back,” reached the R&B charts for three weeks on the Shreveport-based Jewel label.
Chicago blues enthusiast Michael Frank tracked Frost down in 1975 and found him, Johnson, and Carr performing at Johnson’s Clarksdale venue, the Black Fox. Captivated by their sound, Frank launched the Earwig label to document their unfiltered, magnetic style. The 1979 release Rockin’ the Juke Joint Down, credited to the Jelly Roll Kings in reference to a track from the earlier Phillips International album, revealed the trio’s broad palette, incorporating traces of R&B, soul, and Johnny & the Hurricanes within their Delta foundation.
Frost later recorded the Earwig album Midnight Prowler in 1988 and contributed to Atlantic’s 1992 Deep Blues soundtrack, a film that underscored the continued vitality of blues in its Southern heartland. He issued Keep Yourself Together in 1996 and passed away from cardiac arrest on October 12, 1999, at his residence in Helena, Arkansas, at the age of 63.
