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Jackson C Frank: The Clear Hard Light of Genius Paperback – November 11, 2014

by Jim Abbott (Author)

4.4 66 ratings

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The story of Jackson C. Frank is tragic. The victim of a school fire in his youth, struggling with homelessness and mental illness throughout his life, half-blinded in old age before his death in 1999, Frank met continuous obstacles. And yet he enjoyed a shining moment with the release of Jackson C. Frank on Columbia Records in 1965. The album would go on to be seen as one of the greatest folk albums of the decade maybe of all time and its opening track Blues Run the Game has become a standard covered by hundreds. Jim Abbott s book is the result of years of research piecing together evidence, relations and apocryphal stories from Frank s life. It is also part memoir, as Abbott cared for Frank through the final decade of his life. Their friendship was fraught with difficulties, which Abbott portrays with the honesty of a journalist. In doing so, he draws a portrait of a uniquely gifted songwriter, blessed with talent and besotted by demons. At 250 pages, Abbott s memoir shows a flawed and caring individual whose struggle was best depicted in his songs. Following the release of Jackson C. Frank: The Clear, Hard Light of Genius, Ba Da Bing will release three volumes of Jackson C. Frank: The Complete Recordings in early 2015, compiling work from throughout his life, including unreleased material.

Print length

250 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Ba Da Bing
Publication date

November 11, 2014
ISBN-10

0990916405
ISBN-13

978-0990916406
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ba Da Bing (November 11, 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 250 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0990916405
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0990916406
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces

Best Sellers Rank: #1,137,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 66 ratings

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Raven Shaddock

A must read for fans of Jackson C Frank

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2015

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I first came across Jackson C Frank from an article in MOJO a while back that actually talked about this book coming out sometime. For a while it looked like it wasn't going to be published but now it's out. Jim Abbott not only the writer but became involved w/ Jackson C Frank in his later years. This is a tragic story of folk singer Jackson C Frank who struggled his whole life. I'm not going into details on his life as you can read on line and other reviews. Abbott interviews a lot of Jackson's family, friends and performers who knew him during those times like Al Stewart, Bert Jansch although not interviewed Paul Simon who was a good friend of Jackson and showed it in a very unselfish way. Many fans of folk will know a number of other artists who appear in the book like Tom Paxton, John Renbourn and Robin Williamson to name a few.
I found the book interesting w/ a few minor incidents I would of liked to see more details. Such as when in England Abbott mentions that Jackson was acerbic to some people. I liked to know what did he say? Give us a few lines. Or when Jackson was performing in one of the U.K. clubs they say he acted strange. How strange? What did he do or say? Also sometimes the story repeats itself and jump back and forth in time. One time Abbott talks about a certain time in '60's then goes to the '70's then speaks to another person and he repeats what happened in '60's. It just seemed at times it wasn't chronological. But not enough to stop me from reading this book on a performer who seemed to be his own worst enemy in destroying a number of opportunities to further his career. Jackson seemed to be packing a lot demons in his life. It was good fortune that Abbott didn't give up on Jackson and at least made his last few years comfortable.
You won't find another book w/ the the insight as this one and done w/ as much love on Jackson C Frank by Jim Abbott.
RIP Jackson C Frank I hope you are dancing w/ Marlene "like two snowflakes in the falling wind".

9 people found this helpful

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jimmyjamm

so this is the best you can acquire

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2018

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Not much out there for ‘ole Jackson Frank, so this is the best you can acquire. This has almost everything that a recorder ever captured in his era.

2 people found this helpful

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Blueshawk

The most important, influential, American Folk artist on British Folk music that you may never have heard of:Blues Run the Game

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2018

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This is a very well written and informative book about a little known major figure in the British Folk Scene. Nick Drake, John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, Whiz Jones, Dave Graham, Sandy Denny, and Paul Simon were all influenced by Jackson while he was in London. I grew up in the town next to Cheektowaga, NY where JCF grew up. The school fire that nearly killed him was well known and greatly influenced my parents who removed a gas furnace from the house to the garage after living through this disaster.
Nick Drake has recorded several of Jackson's song on his home recorder, and they are now released. His influence on British Folk music seems to have been greater than on American, perhaps because when Paul Simon produced his record on Columbia it was only released in Europe. After listening to his music lately I can see that he had a great influence on Nick Drake on both his lyrics (his use of the seasons to transition time) and his modal style of playing on some songs.
This book is also a great illustration of how a gifted and well off person can sink down the social ladder in the USA and become homeless and how when given a stable living environment can become a productive citizen again. Too bad he didn't get to record the last songs that he wrote lyrics for.

3 people found this helpful

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Golf nut

A life well lived?

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2021

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Would not believe Jackson’s live except for the fact it’s true! I bought his CD first and listened to it and realized what a treasure it was. Then thought I wonder who J C Frank was and if he has more music released? This lead me to this book and I’m glad it did. The book will blow your mind, if you let it. How can a man like Jackson survive these times, well he did and he didn’t. It’s a page turner of a book and would recommend only to folks of a certain open mindedness to others fragility and those maybe of certain age and time?

3 people found this helpful

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Rabbit's Soul

The Clear Hard Light of Tragedy

Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2017

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What's good about this book? Well, it includes unreleased lyrics (with many missing lines) and some information about a handful of his recording sessions, performances, marriage and how he ping-ponged from the U.S. to England and back. That's kind of interesting if you're beyond a casual fan. With that said, it's worth pointing out that the information is never in-depth. The overall presentation is very disjointed and vague in places and Abbott often abandons ship as the information seems to be getting interesting or more informative.

What's bad? After the early, tragic story (FIRE) is told, Abbott uses it as an excuse for nearly all of Jackson's inspirations and failures. However, it comes across as speculation, and he does it throughout the book. Apparently Jackson wrote many of his songs (if a few is many) from the pain he felt from the tragedy (though most of his lyrics suggest otherwise, IMO), and that hard luck hit him all his life because of the tragedy. To think that his fate couldn't possibly have been steered by his own personal choices is absurd. Reading this book makes you feel like Jackson never had a chance just because he experienced tragedy very early in life. Jackson crossed oceans a handful of times, performed live countless times, drove cars, dealt with relationships, etc. He wasn't completely helpless.

The worst part of this book is Abbott's lack of citations.

But it is the only book about the obscure Jackson C. Frank.

10 people found this helpful

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Richard Whittington

A musical magician

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2019

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Around 1964/5 I went to Les cousins in Soho London to see a singer/songwriter called Jackson Frank.My friend Geoff and I had his first album and being performers ourselves were keen to see him in person.That same evening Simon and Garfunkel turned up and performed most of their early songs.This was the kind of thing that could happen in London in those days,we were very lucky to be there.Jack played brilliantly of course and sang well.This was the only time I ever met the man,sand never saw him again.This book brought back many memories of the folk music scene of the time and one of its finest artists,a stunning tale of triumph and hardship and a great read.Richard Whittington.

8 people found this helpful

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Mark Anderson

Jim Abbott has done a great job in unearthing both the gold and dross in ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2014

Jim Abbott has done a great job in unearthing both the gold and dross in this man's life. His excellent writing brings reason to an unreasonable story.

3 people found this helpful

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Oggie

A must read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2021

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Having been a committed 'folkie' since the mid sixties I can't believe I hadn't heard of Jackson C Frank in all those years. Only after hearing many versions of the iconic song 'Blues Run the Game' did I decide to research the composer. His close connections with other big names in the folk scene - Jansch, Renbourn, Denny, Simon - make it even more amazing that I wasn't aware of him. The poor mans story is so full of tragedy that one could almost believe it was a work of fiction, and I can't help thinking there needs to be a film. Well written and an absolute must for those who were around during the folk boom.

Keith Willetts

A Great Singer Songwriter, A Sad Tale

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2021

Verified Purchase

Love his music, haunting, raw, great guitar picking, touches your soul. A great singer and guitar player now almost forgotten. What a sad loss.

Spencer Leigh

Where are the pictures?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 2, 2015

Verified Purchase

I've bought the Kindle edition which keeps referring to photographs but there are none. This book is well researched and decently written but the author seems to have no concept of the fact that he has told something before. I don't think that I have read a biography with so much repetition: it reminded me of Samuel Beckett's novels like Malone Dies, immensely sad but there the repetition is for literary effect. Writing a biography is as much about selecting the material as gathering the facts. The evidence for calling him a genius is slender.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Thanks for the enlightment into jacksons back story,

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2018

Verified Purchase

A lot of research and care by Jim to bring this sad story of A truly gifted man who faced more trials than one could be expected to bear, but the music left behind first class.

One person found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Great Biography on Jackson C Frank the 60s Folk musician.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2020

Verified Purchase

Good read if you love Jackson C Frank and his music, don't think there are any others available that I have seen, enjoyed it.

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