Person Biography:
Frank, an influential folk singer, was born with a life marked by misfortune and obscurity. At the tender age of eleven, Frank's life took a devastating turn when a furnace exploded at his elementary school in Cheektowaga, New York, killing eighteen of his classmates and leaving him with severe burns. During his recovery in a hospital, a tutor named Charlie Casatelli gifted Frank his first guitar, sparking a passion for music.
As Frank grew older, he was drawn to the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s, where he met notable figures like John Kay, later of Steppenwolf. A substantial insurance settlement he received after turning 21 enabled him to travel to London, where he made a significant impact.
Frank took up residence with struggling folk singer Paul Simon in London, who later produced ten of Frank's songs in a self-titled album. Frank's voice was characterized as tremulously somber, but the quality of his compositions was often impressive, with a reflective and melancholic touch that possibly influenced Simon, Sandy Denny, and Nick Drake.
Although his first album received acclaim in the British folk community, Frank was unable to replicate the quality of his material and struggled to produce a follow-up. His depression deepened, stage fright increased, and his insurance settlement ended, leading him to return to the United States in 1969 without releasing another album.
Frank's life took a downward spiral as his depression worsened, and he began sleeping on the streets. He became a ward of the state and was institutionalized at times. In 1977, Frank attempted to release a new album but was rejected by publishers due to a lack of market appeal. Again, he fell into a deep depression, and his childhood injuries worsened, leading to hospitalization.
However, Frank's life took a turn for the better in 1993 when Jim Abbott, a local Woodstock resident and sympathetic fan, rediscovered him. Abbott successfully brought Frank out of a state housing project in the Bronx and into a senior center in Woodstock. Frank resumed songwriting and performing occasionally until his death on March 3, 1999.
