This evening, I took a long walk north of Cambridge to Arlington to take in the U.S. premiere of the documentary Blues Run the Game: The Strange Tale of Jackson C. Frank at the Regent Theatre.
It marked the first time in over 20 years that I've been to the Regent Theatre which has been a part of Arlington's cultural community since 1916.
In Jackson C. Frank's 56 years and a day on this planet, the blues followed him wherever he went. At the age of 11, Frank was severely burned and wounded during an explosion at an elementary school outside of Buffalo, New York which claimed the lives of 15 of his classmates.
Amid Frank's long recuperation, he was given a guitar by one of his teachers and would gradually begin to perform. This would continue into his university years at Gettysburg College. When Frank turned 21, he received an insurance settlement from accident to the tune of over $100,000 (over a $1 million in 2025) and began to spend it recklessly and engage in other reckless behavior alienating his friends and his girlfriend.
Frank would follow his estranged to girlfriend to the U.K. where they would briefly reconcile. It was there that Frank became connected to the British folk scene and would briefly date Sandy Denny who would later become the lead singer for Fairport Convention and Fotheringay. Denny would also accompany Robert Plant on "Battle of the Evermore" on Led Zeppelin IV.
While in London, Frank became acquainted with Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel and Al Stewart. All three men, with Simon serving as producer, would collaborate with Frank on his lone album Jackson C. Frank which was released in 1965. However, the album did not sell, and Frank would soon return stateside and settle in Woodstock where his behavior grew more erratic often going out in public without wearing any clothes. Art Garfunkel tried to seek out Frank to see if he could record one of his songs but was greeted by Frank who was accompanied by some rough looking people which abruptly ended the meeting.
Frank was eventually diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and spend much of his life in and out of mental hospital while enduring periods of homelessness. Compounding his troubles, Frank was accidentally shot in the left eye blinding him in that eye.
In the last decade of his life Frank would befriend Jim Abbott (who was in attendance at the screening) who had spent a decade trying to find Blues Run the Game. Abbott did manage to persuade EMI to give Frank some of his royalties and he would make a handful of recordings though no record company was interested in releasing them.
The film did not present Frank as a saintly figure. He did not treat the women in his life very well and barely knew his daughter. However, he also lost a son hours after he was born. Frank endured more tragedy in his life than most of us could contemplate.
Following the screening, there was a panel discussion with Abbott, producer and director Damien Aimé Dupont, assistant director Etienne Grosbois as well as Mark Anderson, who was Frank's college roommate who later introduced Abbott to Frank.
Dupont told the audience that he was a fan of English folk music with Fairport Convention and Pentangle being his favorite bands. He was drawn to Frank's music via YouTube recommendations and became hooked. (As for me, I learned about Jackson C. Frank's music about a decade ago when I had Google Play Music on my phone.) The film became a labor of love which was put together over a 15-year period.
Indeed, Pentangle guitarist and vocalist John Renbourn, who is prominently featured in the film, has been dead for over 10 years. Other luminaries interviewed for the film are Al Stewart and John Kay of Steppenwolf as well as guitarist Wizz Jones who passed away one week ago.
Notably absent from the film are both Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. I asked Dupont and Grosbois if they had approached Simon and Garfunkel, Dupont indicated he had, and neither were interested in participating.
For his part, Abbott reached out both parties while researching his 2023 book Jackson C. Frank: The Clear Hard Light of Genius. Abbott reached out to Simon's publicist who put him in touch with his younger brother Ed Simon who had no interest in discussing Jackson C. Frank whatsoever.
As for Garfunkel, Abbott would send him a copy of the book to no avail. He would later see Garfunkel in concert and waited outside to talk to him, but all Garfunkel would tell him is that he hadn't read the book. All Abbott needed to do was to check Garfunkel's website which lists every book he has read between 1968 and 2023. Nevertheless, I am sorry to hear that Abbott's encounter with Garfunkel was less joyous than the one I had with him here in Cambridge in 2017.
It could be the case that both Simon and Garfunkel, who made amends once more late last year, are both in agreement that it is too painful for them to talk about Jackson C. Frank 60 years after they brought his only album to life.
Abbott, Dupont, Grisbois and Anderson all agreed that Blues Run the Game: The Strange Tale of Jackson C. Frank was about empathy. Perhaps if Simon and Garfunkel were to view the film, they might find the empathy to acknowledge Jackson C. Frank and the blues which followed him.
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