> Sandy Denny > Obituaries, Interviews and Articles > Jackson C. Frank has died

Jackson C. Frank has died

Charles Reynolds (Rockin' World) in rec.music.folk, 24 March 1999

Reproduced with permission

Folk legend Jackson C. Frank has passed away. He died March 4 in Great Barrington, MA.

Jackson, born in Buffalo, NY in 1943, was somewhat better known in the UK, where he lived in the mid-60's and was a part of the folk scene there. His one single and one LP from 1965 (both recorded for Columbia) were only released in Britain. He was, in the words of Ian Woodward, “the musician to see on the scene at the time”. Highly regarded by Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Paul Simon and many others, Jackson penned the classic, Blues Run the Game (which Bert Jansch still plays most every night). Recently a mid-60's version by Simon & Garfunkel was released on their box set. He also wrote Milk And Honey and You Never Wanted Me, both of which were recorded by Sandy Denny, with whom Jackson had a relationship while living in England.

Jackson was friends with many people in the folk and rock world on both sides of the Atlantic in the 60's. His final gig in the UK was on a bill at the Royal Albert Hall with Fairport Convention, Joni Mitchell, and Al Stewart in 1968, but upon returning to the USA in the latter part of the 60's, never fully recovered (including serious burns from an accident as a child). He spent the last few years in a nursing home in Massachusetts. We had the pleasure of bringing him to Amherst to see Wizz Jones play this past year.

For those of you not familiar with his work, I strongly encourage you to seek out his album Jackson C. Frank which has been reissued on the UK Mooncrest label as Blues Run the Game (CRESTCD 021) in 1996 with some demos as bonus tracks. Well crafted songs, vocal and guitar, and produced by Paul Simon.

This brief description hardly does the man / musician justice at all; for more info you can seek out the two articles from the past two years that appeared in both Folk Roots and Dirty Linen.

Do NOT let this man's passing go quietly! Seek out his work, or pull out his album or CD from your stacks and celebrate his life through his music!