Frank Wakefield

From Bluegrass to Beethoven

For bookings contact:
The Frank Wakefield Band
PO Box 1293
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
E-mail: [email protected]

Frank Performing with Friends

Blue Moon of Kentucky Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky" performed for encore of the Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp Faculty Concert at the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky on September 13, 2008. Bobby Osborne singing and on mandolin, Frank Wakefield, Richie Brown, Butch Waller and Roland White on mandolins and Tom Ewing on guitar. Mike Lawing, assistant director of the International Bluegrass Music Museum and the mandolin camp director,is the emcee.
In the Pines Frank makes a guest appearance with Peter Rowan and the Tony Rice Unit (Tony Rice, Ricky Simpkins and Mike Bub) at The Egg in Albany, New York on April 6, 2008.
I Hope You've Learned Kings Highway invited Frank to join them for their set in Rosine, Kentucky on September 12, 2008. Mark Hargis on mandolin, Josh Johnston on guitar, Mike Fulkerson on banjo and Byron Oost on bass.
Golden Slippers Frank, Jesse McReynolds and Bobby Osborne playing "Golden Slippers" during their Masters of the Mandolin set at the Wind Gap Bluegrass Festival in Wind Gap, Pennsylvania on June 14, 2008.
New Camptown Races Frank and the Del McCoury Band playing New Camptown Races during the encore of the double bill Frank's Band and Del's Band played at the East Hartford Community Cultural Center in East Hartford, Connecticut on November 16, 2007. Frank wrote New Camptown Races in 1953 at the age of 19.

A Great Performer

Frank Wakefield's shows are famous for the power and raw beauty of his mandolin playing and his liveliness and humor on stage. His performances cover a wide range of music running the gamut from bluegrass to classical, and include many of Frank's own incredibly beautiful tunes.
Now a mandolin and bluegrass legend Frank is still performing with the same exuberance and creativity of that young nineteen-year-old mandolin player who wrote New Camptown Races so many years ago back in 1953.

The Frank Wakefield Band

The Frank Wakefield Band features fine bluegrass harmonies and traditional as well as hot innovative picking. The band performs both bluegrass favorites and many of Frank’s original vocals and instrumentals. Band members include Frank on mandolin and vocals, Deane Lewis on banjo and vocals, Pat Mullaly on guitar and vocals and Fred Woodward on bass and vocals.
T for Texas/Rocky Road Blues The Frank Wakefield Band performing at the East Hartford Community Cultural Center in East Hartford, Connecticut on November 16, 2007.
The Train That I Ride The Frank Wakefield Band doing one of Frank's original songs while hanging out on the back deck of Frank's house during a pleasant fall afternoon in September 2007.
Mandolin Solo in G and Gm Frank playing one of his many original classical style mandolin solos at the Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp Faculty Concert on September 13, 2008. This concert was part of the Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp held at the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky September 12- 14, 2008.

Frank's Influence on Other Musicians

Frank is notable as a great bluegrass player and for his significant innovations that have shaped the way many musicians play the mandolin. Historically, Frank is a transitional figure, coming between the strict format of traditional bluegrass and the wide-open spaces being explored by today’s young musicians. Ever since the release of his first original tune, “New Camptown Races” in 1953 at the age of nineteen revolutionized the sound of bluegrass music, Frank has constantly been exploring new musical frontiers, paving the way for other musicians.Frank's influence on mandolin playing is easily detected when listening to newer generations of mandolin stylists from David Grisman to Ronnie McCoury. David Grisman, Frank’s most famous student, wrote of Frank: “Frank was the first mandolin player to transform the bluegrass energy of Bill Monroe’s style into something new. He split the bluegrass mandolin atom. Some of us, obviously, will never be the same again”.During his career Frank has influenced a broad spectrum of musicians, from country and bluegrass artists to pop and rock performers. Besides his own albums and performances Frank has performed and collaborated with many diverse musicians. Some of these include Red Allen, Ralph Stanley, Jimmy Martin, Don Reno, Chubby Wise, The Greenbriar Boys, Don McLean, Jerry Garcia, The New Riders of the Purple Sage, David Grisman, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, Tony Rice, Mike Seeger, Mike Auldridge and Linda Ronstadt.

Frank's Career

A native of Emory Gap, Tennessee, Frank began his musical career in Dayton, Ohio in the early 1950’s when Red Allen was walking along a street in Dayton and saw a blond-headed young man sitting on a porch playing a beat-up old mandolin. Red asked: “Can you play that thing?” “A little bit,” Frank responded and thus began one of the greatest alliances in bluegrass. In the late 1950’s Frank and Red moved to the Washington, D.C. area where they continued to perform through the early 1960’s. This partnership recorded a number of sides for various labels, but it is their album for Folkways, Red Allen, Frank Wakefield and the Kentuckians, produced by Frank’s then teenaged protégé, David Grisman, that is one of the acknowledged classics of bluegrass recording. In the middle 1960’s Frank joined The Greenbriar Boys, a “city-grass” group. With Frank in the band they achieved a synthesis of the urban and rural sound and were one of the most popular groups in the folk music scene of the 1960’s. The band recorded an excellent album for Vanguard, Better Late Than Never, which featured some of Frank’s original material. During this period Frank also performed with many of the greats of bluegrass and helped Ralph Stanley record his first album after the death of his brother, Carter Stanley.After The Greenbriar Boys disbanded in 1968 Frank moved to Saratoga Springs, New York. Spending a lot of time performing alone, Frank developed a style of playing the mandolin as a solo instrument, using special tunings and elaborate picking techniques. Using this style, he is able to portray complete symphonic passages, creating a classical sound with separate movements and refrains. In 1972 Frank cut an outstanding album for Rounder, Frank Wakefield, showcasing some of the new directions he was taking his music. During this time he also toured with Don McLean and played on his album for United Artists, Don McLean, Playing Favorites.While visiting in California in the mid 1970’s Frank met David Nelson of The New Riders of the Purple Sage. They developed a close personal friendship and Frank began sometimes performing with The New Riders of the Purple Sage and with The Grateful Dead. During this time Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead produced an album for United Artists, Pistol Packin’ Mama featuring Frank, David Nelson, Don Reno and Chubby Wise. The album bridged generations and musical styles by combining the talents of Frank and bluegrass greats Don Reno and Chubby Wise with those of country-rock singer and guitarist Nelson.Upon returning to New York, Frank formed his own band, Frank Wakefield and the Good Ol’ Boys. The band played throughout the country for several years in the mid and late 1970’s and gained an enthusiastic following. It was with this band that Frank recorded an album for Flying Fish, Frank Wakefield and the Good Ol’ Boys.In 1978 Frank moved out to Oakland, California where he lived for the next six years. Frank put together a new band of top young San Francisco Bay Area musicians and toured throughout the U.S. and Canada. While out in California Frank wrote some exciting new tunes and recorded two more fine albums, featuring many of the best San Francisco Bay Area musicians on each. End of the Rainbow, on Bay Records, contained a number of Frank’s own tunes and showed the innovative side of his music. Blues Stay Away from Me, on Takoma Records, highlighted solid playing and singing and displayed the more traditional side of Frank’s music. The recording was reissued on CD in 2001 by King Tet Productions.In 1984 Frank moved back to Saratoga Springs, New York and continues playing to enthusiastic audiences throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia.

Frank As A MandolinTeacher

Frank is passionate about teaching mandolin playing and keeping the music alive. Throughout his career he has generously shared his knowledge with other mandolin players. Whether they are former students like David Grisman who went on to become outstanding professional players in their own right or students who just want to experience the joy of playing the mandolin - nothing makes Frank happier then seeing his students progress with their playing and grow to share his love of the mandolin. Frank has taught many mandolin players over the years and has participated in numerous mandolin workshops. Recently Frank taught at the Third Annual Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp held at The International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky from September 12-14, 2008. A series of video mandolin lessons done by Frank are highly acclaimed by students who have used them.Just Having Fun Picking Frank Wakefield and Ronnie McCoury playing Evening Prayer Blues. Frank and Ronnie are having fun playing and trading mandolin breaks after the show at the East Hartford Community Cultural Center on November 16, 2007.
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Recordings in Recent Years

Frank Wakefield: Don’t Lie to Me (CD-075) released by Patuxent Records in 2003 features fine vocals and instrumentals, including 5 songs written by Frank. The recording reunites Frank with some musicians who performed and recorded with Frank in the past. Bill Keith featured on banjo played with Frank and Red Allen and was on the 1963 Folkways album Red Allen, Frank Wakefield and the Kentuckians. John Glick featured on fiddle played in Frank’s Good Ol’ Boys band back in the mid-1970’s and was on the Flying Fish album Frank Wakefield and the Good Ol’ Boys.Frank Wakefield: Midnight on the Mandolin (CD-050) released by Patuxent Records in 2000 includes a number of vocals and instrumentals written by Frank, many of which were not previously recorded.An outstanding all instrumental recording, Frank Wakefield: That Was Now This Is Then (RA 62096) was released by Rosewood Records in 1996. Accompanied by superb musicians the recording features some of Frank’s original instrumentals along with some bluegrass classics.The Kitchen Tapes (ACD-11), released in 1994 on David Grisman’s Acoustic Disc label, was the first in the Acoustic Archive Series featuring recordings of rare artistic and historic merit not originally intended for release. The Kitchen Tapes was recorded on the afternoon of April 11, 1963 in the kitchen of Frank Wakefield’s home in Hyattsville, Maryland. There Frank and his music partner, the legendary singer-guitarist Red Allen, jammed freely for hours. Present at this gathering were David Grisman and Peter Siegel, both 18-year-old New York University students and budding folk musicians who convinced Red and Frank to let them record an informal session for their learning and listening pleasure. Surrounded by their wives and kids, a reel-to-reel tape recorder, and a strategically placed microphone, these incomparable musicians played songs that have come to embody the essence of bluegrass: "Nine Pound Hammer," "Over the Hills to the Poorhouse," "Bluegrass Breakdown," "Billy in the Lowground," "Crying Heart Blues," "New Camptown Races," "Down in the Willow Garden," "Rawhide," and 17 more! The Kitchen Tapes offers a rich, intimate glimpse of two great musicians making music for the pure joy of it. It is a must-have for anyone interested in traditional folk and bluegrass artistry.In 2001 the songs from the 1964 Folkways album Red Allen, Frank Wakefield and the Kentuckians were reissued by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings as part of a two CD set: Red Allen featuring Frank Wakefield - The Folkways Years 1964-1983. Besides the 12 songs on the original Folkways album, the 2001 recording also includes 6 songs of Red and Frank previously unreleased. In addition there are 10 songs of Red Allen from later years playing with his sons Harley and Greg Allen, Vassar Clements and Marty Stuart among others. Frank plays on Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza (ACD-35) released in 1999 by Acoustic Disc and produced by David Grisman and Ronnie McCoury. The recording earned a Grammy nomination for best bluegrass recording of the year. It features the mandolin playing of Frank, Jesse McReynolds, Bobby Osborne, David Grisman, Ronnie McCoury, Buck White, Ricky Skaggs and Sam Bush and features Del McCoury on guitar.Frank plays on Tone Poets (ACD-62), a unique 2-CD set from Acoustic Disc founder David Grisman. David assembled a stellar cast of mandolinists and guitarists, all performing on the same vintage 1922 Gibson F-5 mandolin and 1933 Martin OM-45 guitar-revealing sonic secrets that only master musicians know. The Tone Poets heard on the double discs (Solos and Duos) include David Bromberg, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, John Jorgenson, Mike Marshall, Ronnie & Del McCoury, Tony Rice, Andy Statman, Bryan Sutton, Tim O'Brien, Frank Vignola, Chris Thile, Frank Wakefield and David Grisman himself.