Sometimes, the world needs reminding that the blues run the game, and right on cue, folk singer Jackson C. Frank is having his tragic life explored with a new biography. Jim Abbott's Jackson C. Frank: The Clear, Hard Light of Genius will be out on November 11 through Ba Da Bing Records.
This book was made with extensive research, and it tells of Frank's many struggles. He was badly injured in a school fire as a child, battled mental illness, had periods of homelessness, was partially blinded in a pellet gun incident, and died in 1999 at the age of 56.
The biography is also part memoir, since Abbott helped to care from Frank in the final decade of his life. An announcement notes that this 250-page book "draws a portrait of a uniquely gifted songwriter, blessed with talent and besotted by demons."
Jackson C. Frank's lone official album, 1965's self-titled release, was reissued last year through 4 Men with Beards. In 2015, Ba Da Bing will release three volumes of Jackson C. Frank: The Complete Recordings, which will bring together material from throughout his life and will contain unreleased material.
Over the years, Frank's songs have been covered by the likes of Nick Drake, Colin Meloy, Bert Jansch, Robin Pecknold (of Fleet Foxes), Mark Lanegan, Simon and Garfunkel, and many more.
This book was made with extensive research, and it tells of Frank's many struggles. He was badly injured in a school fire as a child, battled mental illness, had periods of homelessness, was partially blinded in a pellet gun incident, and died in 1999 at the age of 56.
The biography is also part memoir, since Abbott helped to care from Frank in the final decade of his life. An announcement notes that this 250-page book "draws a portrait of a uniquely gifted songwriter, blessed with talent and besotted by demons."
Jackson C. Frank's lone official album, 1965's self-titled release, was reissued last year through 4 Men with Beards. In 2015, Ba Da Bing will release three volumes of Jackson C. Frank: The Complete Recordings, which will bring together material from throughout his life and will contain unreleased material.
Over the years, Frank's songs have been covered by the likes of Nick Drake, Colin Meloy, Bert Jansch, Robin Pecknold (of Fleet Foxes), Mark Lanegan, Simon and Garfunkel, and many more.
