[edit] Music career
His 1965 self-titled album (see Jackson C. Frank) was produced by Paul Simon whilst both men were playing folk clubs in England. Jackson was so shy during the recording that he requested upon being shielded by screens so that Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, and Al Stewart (who also attended the recording) could not see him, claiming 'I can't play. You're looking at me.' The most famous track, "Blues Run the Game", was covered by Simon and Garfunkel. Another song, "Milk and Honey", appeared in Vincent Gallo's film The Brown Bunny, and was also covered by Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, and Sandy Denny, whom he dated for a while. During their relationship, Jackson convinced Sandy to give up nursing (her current profession) and concentrate on music full time.
Although Frank was well received in England, for a while, in 1966, things took a turn for the worse, with more dynamic Rock bands becoming popular. At the same time, Frank began to experience writer's block. His insurance cheque was running out, so he decided to go back to the USA for two years. When he returned to England in 1968, he was deemed a different person. His depression from the fire had increased, and he had no self-confidence. Al Stewart recalled,
"He proceeded to fall apart before our very eyes. His style that everyone loved was melancholy, very tuneful things. He started doing things that were completely impenetrable. They were basically about psychological angst, played at full volume with lots of thrashing. I don't remember a single word of them, it just did not work. There was one review that said he belonged on a psychologist's couch. Then shortly after that, he hightailed it back to Woodstock again, because he wasn't getting any work."
[edit] Woodstock 1970
While in Woodstock, he married Elaine Sedgwick, an English former fashion model. They had a son, though he unfortunately died of Cystic Fibrosis, and later a daughter, Angeline. This sent Frank into a period of great depression, and he was committed to an institution. By the early 70's Frank had become so pitiful that he began to beg aid from friends. Karl Dallas wrote an enthusiastic piece in 1975 in Melody Maker, and in 1978, his 1965 album was re-released as Jackson Frank Again, with a new cover sleeve, although this did not encourage fresh awareness of Frank.
In 1984, Frank took a trip to New York in a desperate bid to locate Paul Simon, but he ended up sleeping on the sidewalk. His mother, who had been in hospital for open heart surgery, found him gone with no forwarding address when she arrived home. He was living on the street, and was frequently admitted and discharged from various institutions. He was treated for paranoid schizophrenia, when he actually had depression caused by the trauma he’d experienced as a child. Just as Frank’s prospects seemed to be at their worst, a fan from the area around Woodstock, Jimmy Abbott, discovered him in the early 1990’s. Abbott had been discussing music with Mark Anderson, a teacher at the local college he was attending. The conversation had turned to folk music, which they both enjoyed, when Abbott asked the teacher if he’d heard of Jackson C. Frank. He recollects:
"I hadn’t even thought about it for a couple of years, and he goes, ‘Well yes, as a matter of fact, I just got a letter from him. Do you feel like helping a down-on-his-luck folk singer?"
Frank, who had known Anderson from their days at Gettysburg College , had decided to write him to ask if there was anywhere in Woodstock he could stay after he had made up his mind to leave New York City. Abbott phoned Frank, and then organized a temporary placement for him at a senior citizens’ home in Woodstock. Abbott was stunned by what he saw when he travelled to New York to visit Frank.
"When I went down I hadn’t seen a picture of him, except for his album cover. Then, he was thin and young. When I went to see him, there was this heavy guy hobbling down the street, and I thought, ‘That can’t possibly be him’…I just stopped and said ‘Jackson?’ and it was him. My impression was, ‘Oh my God’, it was almost like the elephant man or something. He was so unkempt, dishevelled.” a further side effect of the fire was a parathyroid malfunction causing him to put on weight. “He had nothing. It was really sad. We went and had lunch and went back to his room. It almost made me cry, because here was a fifty-year-old man, and all he had to his name was a beat-up old suitcase and a broken pair of glasses. I guess his caseworker had given him a $10 guitar, but it wouldn’t stay in tune. It was one of those hot summer days. He tried to play Blues Run The Game for me, but his voice was pretty much shot."
Soon after this, Frank was sitting on a bench in NY while awaiting a move to Woodstock, when someone shot him in his left eye, and consequently blinded him. At first no reason was given for this but it was later determined that kids from the neighborhood were firing a pellet gun indiscriminately at people and Jackson happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Abbott then promptly helped him move to Woodstock. During this time, Frank began recording some demos of new songs, but despite some beautiful lyrics and melodies, they were unfortunately disappointing, deficient of the harmonious ease of his original album, although Frank’s resurfacing did lead to the first CD release of Jackson C. Frank.
Jackson Frank died of pneumonia and cardiac arrest in Great Barrington, Massachusetts on March 3rd, 1999, at the age of fifty-six. Though Frank never achieved fame during his lifetime, his songs have been covered by many well-known artists, including Jimmy Abbott, Simon and Garfunkel, Counting Crows, Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, and Bert Jansch. In September of 2006, an unreleased song, known only as Woodstock 1970 was offered as an audio track on a Norwegian only audiobook of a new novel titled "Babylon Badlands" by Levi Hendriksen.
Frank's song "I want to be alone", also known as "Dialogue", appeared on the soundtrack for the film Daft Punk's Electroma
[edit] External links
* Jackson Carey Frank at the Internet Movie Database
* Jackson C. Frank homepage
* Jackson C Frank Complete Discography at the Folk Blues & Beyond website
* http://www.myspace.com/jacksoncfrank tribute album project
Don't look back
Jackson C Frank Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Keep your eye on freedom shore
'Cuz you know the brave men with you
Also pay the wages of war.
You can read all about justice
In a million books on war
But there aren't words to bring back Evers
So don't look back over your shoulder
Keep your eye on freedom shore
Yeah 'cuz you know the brave men with you
Also pay the wages of war.
Well can't you hear the bells of Selma
Calling out their mournful chimes
Just another death for justice
Another sorrow that's yours and mine
So Don't look back over your shoulder
Keep your eye on freedom shore
'Cuz you know the brave men with you
Also pay the wages of war.
Well there are walls that make a prison
Many names that can bring hate
Tear them down and write them over
Before you find it's just too late
So don't look back over your shoulder
Keep your eye on freedom shore
Yeah 'cuz you know the brave men with you
Also pay the wages of war
Jackson C. Frank's 'Don't Look Back' is a powerful and insightful song that encapsulates the struggles of the civil rights movement that swept across America in the 1960s. The song urges people to keep forging ahead towards freedom and justice, not to be held down by the past, but to keep their eyes on the prize. The lyrics acknowledge the sacrifices made by brave men in the fight for freedom and justice, in particular, Medgar Evers, who was assassinated in 1963. The song also mentions the tragic events that occurred in Selma, Alabama in 1965, where civil rights protesters were attacked on a bridge. In addition, the song touches on the impact of racism and hate and the importance of tearing down walls and rewriting history.
The song is a call to action, urging people to keep fighting for what is right in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The lyrics implore people to learn from history, but not to dwell on it, to keep moving forward towards a better future. The song also highlights the fact that the cost of freedom is great and that it requires the sacrifice of brave men and women who are willing to stand up for what is right, no matter the cost.
Overall, 'Don't Look Back' is a stirring and powerful song that speaks to the struggles of the civil rights movement and the continued need for justice and equality in our world today.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't look back over your shoulder
Do not dwell on the past; focus on moving forward.
Keep your eye on freedom shore
Stay focused on the destination, which is freedom.
'Cuz you know the brave men with you
Also pay the wages of war.
Those who fight for freedom and justice also undergo hardships and sacrifices.
You can read all about justice
In a million books on war
Learning about justice and war is important and can be done through reading.
But there aren't words to bring back Evers
Nor the pay the price that he stood for
No amount of words can undo the sacrifices made by those who stood for justice.
Well can't you hear the bells of Selma
Calling out their mournful chimes
Just another death for justice
Another sorrow that's yours and mine
The death of those who fought for justice is a sorrow shared by all.
Well there are walls that make a prison
Many names that can bring hate
Tear them down and write them over
Before you find it's just too late
Dismantle systems of oppression before it is too late.
Contributed by Jacob I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.