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{{Short description|American blues musician}}
{{Refimprove|date=June 2014}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
{{Infobox musical artist | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name = Harmonica Frank
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'''Frank Floyd''', known as '''Harmonica Frank''' (October 11, 1908 &ndash; August 7, 1984)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://users.efortress.com/doc-rock/1980.html |author=Doc Rock |title=The Dead Rock Stars Club |publisher=Users.efortress.com |date= |accessdate=2014-06-27 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928115542/http://users.efortress.com/doc-rock/1980.html |archivedate=2007-09-28 |df= }}</ref><ref name="amg">{{cite web|author=Steve Leggett |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/harmonica-frank-floyd-mn0000559724 |title=Harmonica Frank Floyd &#124; Biography |publisher=AllMusic |date= |accessdate=2014-06-27}}</ref> was an American [[blues]] singer, [[guitarist]] and [[harmonicist]].


'''Frank Floyd''', known as '''Harmonica Frank''' (October 11, 1908 &ndash; August 7, 1984)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://users.efortress.com/doc-rock/1980.html |author=Doc Rock |title=The Dead Rock Stars Club |publisher=Users.efortress.com |date= |access-date=2014-06-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928115542/http://users.efortress.com/doc-rock/1980.html |archive-date=2007-09-28 }}</ref><ref name="amg">{{cite web|author=Steve Leggett |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/harmonica-frank-floyd-mn0000559724 |title=Harmonica Frank Floyd &#124; Biography |publisher=AllMusic |date= |access-date=2014-06-27}}</ref> was an American [[blues]] singer, [[guitarist]] and [[harmonicist]].
==Biography==


==Biography==
===Early life, performing technique===
===Early life, performing technique===
Frank Floyd was born in [[Toccopola, Mississippi]], the son of itinerant parents who separated without giving him a name,<ref name="amg"/> though he is recorded in the [[1910 census]] as '''Shankles Floyd'''.<ref name="bare">{{cite book| first1= Bob| last1= Eagle| first2= Eric S.| last2= LeBlanc| year= 2013| title= Blues - A Regional Experience| publisher= Praeger Publishers| location= Santa Barbara| pages=113 | isbn= 978-0313344237}}</ref> He was raised by his [[sharecropping]] grandparents, who died while he was a [[adolescence|teenager]]. He taught himself to play [[harmonica]] when he was 10 years old, and he eventually learned guitar. He gave himself the name Frank Floyd,<ref name="amg"/> and began performing in the 1920s for [[traveling carnival]]s and [[medicine show]]s.
Frank Floyd was born in [[Toccopola, Mississippi]], the son of itinerant parents who separated without giving him a name,<ref name="amg"/> though he is recorded in the [[1910 census]] as '''Shankles Floyd'''.<ref name="bare">{{cite book| first1= Bob| last1= Eagle| first2= Eric S.| last2= LeBlanc| year= 2013| title= Blues - A Regional Experience| publisher= Praeger Publishers| location= Santa Barbara| pages=113 | isbn= 978-0313344237}}</ref> He was raised by his [[sharecropping]] grandparents, who died while he was a [[adolescence|teenager]]. He taught himself to play [[harmonica]] when he was 10 years old, and he eventually learned guitar. He gave himself the name Frank Floyd,<ref name="amg"/> and began performing in the 1920s for [[traveling carnival]]s and [[medicine show]]s.<ref name="LarkinBlues">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Blues]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1995|edition=Second|isbn=0-85112-673-1|page=131}}</ref>


He learned many types of [[folk music]] and became a [[mimic]], effortlessly switching from humorous hillbilly ballads to deep country blues.
He learned many types of [[folk music]] and became a [[mimic]], effortlessly switching from humorous hillbilly ballads to deep [[country blues]].


With his self-taught harmonica technique, he was a [[one-man band]], able to play the instrument without his hands or the need for a neck brace. While also playing guitar, he perfected a technique of manipulating the harmonica with his mouth while he sang out of the other side. He could also play harmonica with his nose and thus play two harmonicas at once, a skill he shared with blues harp players [[Big Walter Horton|Walter Horton]] and Gus Cannon's partner [[Noah Lewis]].
With his self-taught harmonica technique, he was a [[one-man band]], able to play the instrument without his hands or the need for a neck brace. While also playing guitar, he perfected a technique of manipulating the harmonica with his mouth while he sang out of the other side. He could also play harmonica with his nose and thus play two harmonicas at once, a skill he shared with blues harp players [[Big Walter Horton|Walter Horton]] and Gus Cannon's partner [[Noah Lewis (musician)|Noah Lewis]].


===Early recordings===
===Early recordings===
After years of performing on the medicine-show circuit, Harmonica Frank began working in [[radio]] in 1932.<ref name="amg"/> His first [[gramophone record|records]] were made in 1951, [[audio engineer|engineered]] by [[Sam Phillips]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee]].<ref name="amg"/> The songs, "Swamp Root", "Goin’ Away Walkin'", "[[Step It Up and Go]]", "Howlin’ Tomcat", and "She Done Moved", were licensed to [[Chess Records]]. Phillips put out another [[single (music)|single]] on [[Sun Records]], "[[Rockin' Chair Daddy]]" / "The Great Medical Menagerist" in 1954.<ref>{{cite book|title=Deep Blues|author=Robert Palmer|authorlink=Robert Palmer (writer)|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|page=241|isbn=978-0-14-006223-6}}</ref> Harmonica Frank thus became the first [[white people|white]] musician to record at that [[recording studio|studio]].<ref name="amg"/> Floyd and [[Larry Kennon]] released a shared single, "Rock-A-Little Baby" / "Monkey Love" in 1958, on their own [[record label]], F&L.
After years of performing on the medicine-show circuit, Harmonica Frank began working in [[radio]] in 1932.<ref name="amg"/> His first [[gramophone record|records]] were made in 1951, [[audio engineer|engineered]] by [[Sam Phillips]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee]].<ref name="amg"/> The songs, "Swamp Root", "Goin’ Away Walkin'", "[[Step It Up and Go]]", "Howlin’ Tomcat", and "She Done Moved", were licensed to [[Chess Records]].<ref name="LarkinBlues"/> Phillips put out another [[single (music)|single]] on [[Sun Records]], "[[Rockin' Chair Daddy]]" / "The Great Medical Menagerist" in 1954.<ref>{{cite book|title=Deep Blues|author=Robert Palmer|year=1981|authorlink=Robert Palmer (American writer)|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/deepblues00palm/page/241 241]|isbn=978-0-14-006223-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/deepblues00palm/page/241}}</ref> Harmonica Frank thus became one of the first [[white people|white]] musicians to record at that [[recording studio|studio]].<ref name="amg"/> Floyd and [[Larry Kennon]] released a shared single, "Rock-A-Little Baby" / "Monkey Love" in 1958, on their own [[record label]], F&L.


===Rediscovery, legacy and death===
===Rediscovery, legacy and death===
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==External links==
==External links==
*{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p76658|label=Harmonica Frank}}
*{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p76658|label=Harmonica Frank}}
* [http://www.wirz.de/music/harmfran.htm Illustrated Harmonica Frank discography]
* [http://www.wirz.de/music/harmfran.htm Illustrated Harmonica Frank discography]
* ''[http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/hfrankfloyd Harmonica Frank Floyd - The Missing Link]'', essay by [[Nick Tosches]]
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20060622150649/http://cdbaby.com/cd/hfrankfloyd Harmonica Frank Floyd - The Missing Link]'', essay by [[Nick Tosches]]
* [http://koti.mbnet.fi/wdd/harmonicafrank.htm Pete Hoppula's Harmonica Frank discography]
* [http://koti.mbnet.fi/wdd/harmonicafrank.htm Pete Hoppula's Harmonica Frank discography]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/barrick.htm Joe Barrick's one-man band page]
* [http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/barrick.htm Joe Barrick's one-man band page]
* [http://www.706unionavenue.nl/86140917 F & L Records - Harmonica Frank Floyd]
* [http://www.706unionavenue.nl/86140917 F & L Records - Harmonica Frank Floyd] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519120830/http://www.706unionavenue.nl/86140917 |date=2018-05-19 }}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:American blues singers]]
[[Category:American blues singers]]
[[Category:American blues harmonica players]]
[[Category:American blues harmonica players]]
[[Category:American male singers]]
[[Category:Sun Records artists]]
[[Category:Sun Records artists]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in Ohio]]
[[Category:Deaths from diabetes]]
[[Category:Deaths from diabetes in the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:People from Pontotoc County, Mississippi]]
[[Category:People from Pontotoc County, Mississippi]]
[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]

Latest revision as of 16:21, 12 July 2024

Harmonica Frank
Birth nameFrank Floyd
Also known asShankles Floyd
Born(1908-10-11)October 11, 1908
Toccopola, Mississippi, United States
DiedAugust 7, 1984(1984-08-07) (aged 75)
Blanchester, Ohio, United States
GenresBlues, country, folk, rockabilly
Instrument(s)Harmonica, vocals, guitar
Years active1920s–1970s
LabelsChess, Adelphi, Barrelhouse

Frank Floyd, known as Harmonica Frank (October 11, 1908 – August 7, 1984)[1][2] was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonicist.

Biography

[edit]

Early life, performing technique

[edit]

Frank Floyd was born in Toccopola, Mississippi, the son of itinerant parents who separated without giving him a name,[2] though he is recorded in the 1910 census as Shankles Floyd.[3] He was raised by his sharecropping grandparents, who died while he was a teenager. He taught himself to play harmonica when he was 10 years old, and he eventually learned guitar. He gave himself the name Frank Floyd,[2] and began performing in the 1920s for traveling carnivals and medicine shows.[4]

He learned many types of folk music and became a mimic, effortlessly switching from humorous hillbilly ballads to deep country blues.

With his self-taught harmonica technique, he was a one-man band, able to play the instrument without his hands or the need for a neck brace. While also playing guitar, he perfected a technique of manipulating the harmonica with his mouth while he sang out of the other side. He could also play harmonica with his nose and thus play two harmonicas at once, a skill he shared with blues harp players Walter Horton and Gus Cannon's partner Noah Lewis.

Early recordings

[edit]

After years of performing on the medicine-show circuit, Harmonica Frank began working in radio in 1932.[2] His first records were made in 1951, engineered by Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee.[2] The songs, "Swamp Root", "Goin’ Away Walkin'", "Step It Up and Go", "Howlin’ Tomcat", and "She Done Moved", were licensed to Chess Records.[4] Phillips put out another single on Sun Records, "Rockin' Chair Daddy" / "The Great Medical Menagerist" in 1954.[5] Harmonica Frank thus became one of the first white musicians to record at that studio.[2] Floyd and Larry Kennon released a shared single, "Rock-A-Little Baby" / "Monkey Love" in 1958, on their own record label, F&L.

Rediscovery, legacy and death

[edit]

Harmonica Frank's songs appeared on many all-black blues compilations in the 1960s and 1970s, collectors being unable to distinguish his race.

In 1972 he was "rediscovered" by Stephen C. LaVere and in the following years recorded two albums for the Adelphi and Barrelhouse labels, including a compilation of the early material. Additional full albums were recorded before his death in 1984, many of which have become available on CD, though his vintage recordings (1951–59) remain mostly out of print and unavailable aside from occasional tracks on compilations.

In his 1975 book Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music, author Greil Marcus presented a unique vision of America and music, and how they relate by using (as metaphors) six musicians, one of whom was Harmonica Frank.

Frank Floyd died in Blanchester, Ohio, on August 7, 1984, due to complications from Type II diabetes (which had previously cost him his leg) and lung cancer.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club". Users.efortress.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Steve Leggett. "Harmonica Frank Floyd | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  3. ^ Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues - A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. p. 113. ISBN 978-0313344237.
  4. ^ a b Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Blues (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 131. ISBN 0-85112-673-1.
  5. ^ Robert Palmer (1981). Deep Blues. Penguin Books. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-14-006223-6.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music (1975, fifth revision March 25, 2008), Greil Marcus
[edit]