Colin Randall writes: Our North America editor, Steve Peck, drew a lot of interest and praise for his exceptional recent account of a pilgrimage to the birthplace in Buffalo, New York State of the late Jackson C Frank, coinciding with the release of Blues Run the Game, which he describes as “easily one of the best music documentaries I’ve seen”.
Frank was among the survivors of a dreadful school fire in Cheektowaga, NY as an 11-year-old in 1954 – his childhood sweetheart, Marlene DuPont, perished – and overcame his own severe injuries without ever truly recovering from the psychological scars. He took refuge in music and Blues Run the Game stands out even today as an outstanding example of his short career of songwriting and performance.
Peck explained his doing friendship with Frank’s biographer, Jim Abbott, who is 1993 saved Frank from destitution and homelessness, found him a home and took care of him for the remaining six years of his life. He was only 56 when he died.
The article stirred memories for another Salut! Live contributor, Ian Evans.
Unknown photo of Jackson C Frank from 1960
After referring to the Guardian‘s feature about the documentary – ‘He lived his whole life in that fire’: the tragic story of ‘lost’ singer Jackson C Frank -Ian recalled the Frank he briefly knew on the London folk scene of the 1960s:
What a coincidence that Steve’s article of 17 May pre-empted me by a day and made me envious of his being able to make friends with the likes of Jim Abbott.
The only UK screening was in the Rio Dalston, London on 18 May. Although it was not particularly convenient I could not resist going, having spent, together with two of my best mates – Rod Edwards and Roger Hand – and spent many enjoyable hours in Jackson Frank’s company in 1965, in the Pillars of Hercules in Greek Street. My friends knew him through themselves playing in the Cousins, which was just across the road from the Pillars.
The film was very interesting, albeit inevitably sad, given the various tragedies in his life.
It consisted mainly of interviews with contemporaries from schooldays and others who knew him in adulthood, particularly Jim Abbott, who became something of a protector.
There were also interviews with Al Stewart, Wizz Jones and John Renbourn; the latter also played guitar and the film ended with him playing an extended version of Blues Run the Game.
At the end of the film there was a Q & A session via Zoom with Damien Dupont, the French director. At the end of his interview with a representative of the Rio cinema, he said that he hoped that the film would generate wider interest in Jackson.
In response to that, I took the opportunity to ask if there were any plans to release the film on DVD or through streaming, as a means of reaching a wider audience.
In reply he smiled, raised his right hand and literally crossed his fingers, saying that he hoped so.
Maybe Steve Peck will have a hot line to him to find out if there will be some form of retail release of the film and keep Salut! Live informed if there is.
As a social observation, it seemed to me that in the audience of about 50, or so, there was no-one within 20 to 30 years of me in age!
As a result, I could not resist venturing to suggest that I was the only person present to have had the pleasure of knowing Jackson personally!
For more context, here is an extract from an article by Ian, published in in 2023, about those Soho days and nights previous. It can be seen in full at https://www.salutlive.com/2023/11/bert-jansch-remembered-rainy-nights-in-soho.html.
“…. Rod Edwards and Roger Hand played gigs at Cousins because of their connection with the Roy Guest Folk Directions, of which incidentally Jim Lloyd [renowned folk broadcaster on BBC Radio 2 and also an artists’ agent]) was a part. Al Stewart was at one time a lodger in their flat.
They invariably played at least one Paul Simon number in their set.
I was there on one occasion when they played The Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall.
Cousins was a dimly lit basement and as they finished their set a small figure emerged from the gloom at bottom of the stairs leading down from Greek Street to compliment them on their performance. This was none other than Paul Simon himself.
Courtesy of Andy Mathews [as we knew Andy Matheou, son of the upstairs restaurants owner], we had open access to Les Cousins. This was my introduction to folk music from a very close quarter because we used to hang out, not only with Al but also the likes of the Young Tradition, Noel Murphy, Roy Harper and other Cousins regulars.
However, the seminal experience was spending time in the company of Jackson Frank during the summer of 1965, much of it in the Pillars of Hercules in Greek Street, just across from the Cousins.
After they left Folk Directions, Rod and Rog were taken under the wing of George Martin, who produced two albums for them. Rod also co-produced with George Martin a version of Under Milk Wood, with a host of Welsh actors, not least Anthony Hopkins.
Rod and Rog later had their own recording studio called Triumvirate, just off Queensway. Rod spent the last 25 years of his working life working for Bill Kenwright, as the MD of Blood Brothers in the West End.
- It wouldn’t seem right to publish another piece about Frank without a clip. Not, however, Blues Run the Game on this occasion but his tribute to that tragically lost girlfriend. For Steve Peck, Marlene is “the most haunting recording I’ve ever heard”…
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