Frank Frost

Even though atmospheric juke joint blues of Frank Frost continued to be steeped in unadulterated Delta funk throughout his career, his ongoing musical journey took him well outside his Mississippi home base. He shifted to St. Louis in 1951, learning how exactly to blow harp 1st from Small Willie Foster and from the famous Sonny Son Williamson, who got him on the highway — like a guitarist — from 1956 to 1959. Drummer Sam Carr, a longtime Frost ally, was also area of the formula, having enticed Frost to front side his combo in 1954 before starting up with Sonny Boy. Departing Williamson’s use in 1959, Frost and Carr resolved in Lula, Mississippi. Guitarist Jack port Johnson came up to speed in 1962 after seated in using the pair in the Savoy Theatre in Clarksdale. The three meshed flawlessly — plenty of to curiosity Memphis maker Sam Phillips inside a short-lived back-to-the-blues marketing campaign that same yr. Hey Boss Guy!, released on Sun’s Phillips International subsidiary mainly because by Frank Frost & the night time Hawks, was an excellent assortment of uncompromising Southern blues (albeit totally from step with industry at that time). Elvis Presley’s ex-guitarist Scotty Moore created Frost’s next classes in Nashville in 1966 for Jewel Information. Augmented by program bassist Chip Youthful, the trio’s limited down-home ensemble function was once more seamless. “My Back again Scratcher,” Frost’s takeoff on Thin Harpo’s “Baby Scuff My Back again,” actually dented the R&B graphs on Shreveport-based Jewel for three weeks. Chicago blues lover Michael Frank searched for Frost in 1975. He located Frost, Johnson, and Carr playing inside Johnson’s Clarksdale tavern, the Dark Fox. Mesmerized by their audio, Frank soon shaped his personal record label, Earwig, to fully capture their uncooked, charismatic make of blues. Released in 1979, Rockin’ the Juke Joint Down, billed as from the Jelly Move Kings (after among the standout tracks on that older Phillips International LP), showcased the trio’s multifaceted strategy — echoes of R&B, spirit, and also Johnny & the Hurricanes permeate their Delta-based assault. In the next years, Frost waxed an Earwig recording (1988’s Midnight Prowler) and made an appearance on Atlantic’s 1992 Deep Blues soundtrack — an acclaimed film that strengthened the actual fact that blues still thrives deep in its Southern birthplace. Frost came back in 1996 with REMAIN Together. He passed away from cardiac arrest Oct 12, 1999 at his house in Helena, Arkansas; he was 63.