Frank Driggs: Difference between revisions
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'''Frank Driggs''' (born 1930) |
'''Frank Driggs''' (born 1930 - September 20,2011) was a retired [[Columbia records]] [[Producer (music)|producer]] and author made famous for his collection of over 100,000 pieces of mostly [[Jazz]] [[photograph]]s,<ref name="nyt0305">Kilgannon, Corey. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/01/nyregion/01jazz.html ". . . And All That Jazz Memorabilia!"], ''The New York Times'', March 1, 2005. Accessed September 12, 2011. "</ref> 314 [[oral history]] recordings<ref>[http://library.umkc.edu/marr-collections/archival/driggs "Marr Sound Archives | Frank Driggs Jazz Oral History Collection"]</ref> and other memorabilia. |
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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For many years Driggs kept his collection of images in his basement of his home in [[Flatbush]] until 2005 when he moved in with the late musicologist and writer [[Joan Peyser]] in the [[Manhattan]] borough of [[New York City]].<ref name="nyt0305" /> |
For many years Driggs kept his collection of images in his basement of his home in [[Flatbush]] until 2005 when he moved in with the late musicologist and writer [[Joan Peyser]] in the [[Manhattan]] borough of [[New York City]].<ref name="nyt0305" /> |
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==Death== |
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Driggs was found dead in his Manhattan home on Tuesday, September 20, 2011. He died of natural causes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jazz Legend Frank Driggs Dies At 81|url=http://www.backstageol.com/music/jazz-legend-frank-driggs-dies-at-81/|work=Jazz Legend Frank Driggs Dies At 81|publisher=BackstageOL|accessdate=22 September 2011}}</ref> |
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==Books== |
==Books== |
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Revision as of 02:43, 22 September 2011
Frank Driggs (born 1930 - September 20,2011) was a retired Columbia records producer and author made famous for his collection of over 100,000 pieces of mostly Jazz photographs,[1] 314 oral history recordings[2] and other memorabilia.
Early life
Frank Driggs first became enamored with jazz and swing listening to late-night broadcasts from hotels and ballrooms in the 1930s. A 1952 Princeton University graduate with a degree in political science, Driggs moved to Manhattan where he worked first as an NBC page.[3] Later he joined with Marshall Stearns, founder of the Institute of Jazz Studies, and others in documenting jazz history. In the late 1950s, the legendary producer John Hammond hired Driggs to help him at Columbia Records. Soon Driggs was producing records, organizing recording sessions and putting out important re-issues of 78 rpm recordings by Fletcher Henderson, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Gene Krupa. His work at Columbia included Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings for which he received Grammy in 1991. Driggs later produced recordings for Epic, Okeh, MCA, Stash, and Time-Life Records, before reviving the Bluebird label for RCA in the early 1970s.
Photography Collection
Soon after Driggs moved to Manhattan in 1952, he began gathering and saving posters flies, ticket stubs recordings and amateur photographs. Much of his collection are publicity stills of Jazz artists. By 2005 his collection had included over 100,000 images. Many of the photographed are not labeled or indexed. Driggs relies on his own system of sorting and personal memory the musicians in the pictures.[4]
Since 1977, Driggs has retired from the music industry and after made most of his income from reproduction fees from his collection. More famously were the use of many of his images in the 2001 documentary miniseries "Jazz" for PBS by Ken Burns.
Much of his collection is of Jazz artists. However, he does contain a sizable collection of blues, rock, dance and movie artists.
In 2005 Driggs offered up his collection of photographs for $1.5 million. However, it is unclear if any or all of the the collection was sold.[1]
Personal life
For many years Driggs kept his collection of images in his basement of his home in Flatbush until 2005 when he moved in with the late musicologist and writer Joan Peyser in the Manhattan borough of New York City.[1]
Death
Driggs was found dead in his Manhattan home on Tuesday, September 20, 2011. He died of natural causes.[5]
Books
- "Black Beauty, White Heat: A Pictorial History of Classic Jazz 1920-1950" by Frank Driggs & Harris Lewine Da Capo Press ISBN 030680672X (1996)
- "Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop: A History" by Frank Driggs & Chuck Haddix Oxford University Press ISBN 0195047672 (2005)
References
- ^ a b c Kilgannon, Corey. ". . . And All That Jazz Memorabilia!", The New York Times, March 1, 2005. Accessed September 12, 2011. "
- ^ "Marr Sound Archives | Frank Driggs Jazz Oral History Collection"
- ^ Adler, Jerry. "Jazz Man", Smithsonian.com, September, 2005. Accessed September 12, 2011.
- ^ "Photos of Jazz's Memory Lane, for Sale" National Public Radio, March 15, 2005. Accessed September 12, 2011
- ^ "Jazz Legend Frank Driggs Dies At 81". Jazz Legend Frank Driggs Dies At 81. BackstageOL. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
External links
- 2005 NPR piece "Photos of Jazz's Memory Lane, for Sale" [1]
- University of Missouri-Kansas City Marr Sound Archives | of Frank Driggs Jazz Oral History Collection
- 2005 New York Times article . . . And All That Jazz Memorabilia!
- 2005 Smithsonian.com article Jazz Man