Jackson C. Frank: the Fire, the Songs, and the decline.

Jackson C Frank was an 11 year old 6th grader on March 31, 1954 in Cheektowaga, NY, a suburb of Buffalo. He was in his music classroom in the one story wooden annex building when an explosion sent overwhelming and raging fires through the entire building within seconds. Fifteen 6th graders died that day ranging in age from 10 - 12. Many of the students were found at the base of the windows, burned beyond recognition. 23 other students and teachers were severely burned. Only two students escaped without burns. “The windows were too small and they were jammed. It all happened so fast.” Jackson C. Frank was one of the survivors that day but he was left with third degree burns over 50% of his body. He never fully recovered physically as the fire damaged him in ways that created a lifetime of challenges. Emotionally it is hard to quantify the gravity that Jackson carried on his shoulders. His close friend and 6th grade sweetheart, Marlene Dupont, died in the fire. Jackson would later write a song about his cherished friend called "Marlene".

Witnesses saw 10-year-old Blaine Poss push three children out of the window, saving
their lives. Poss returned to the classroom to help his girlfriend, Reba Smith; both perished in the fire.

In the aftermath, in the aftershock, the young survivors were largely told to "forget about the incident" and to "push it aside" only days after seeing their classmates lowered into their early graves. It was the 1950's; we pushed things aside. For most in the town of Cheektowaga, including Jackson C. Frank, moving on would prove to be the task of a lifetime.

In the hospital Jackson was given a guitar during his long recovery by a nurse who was assigned to his care.

That guitar and the spark it ignited were Jackson’s “Phoenix”. He became a fairly prolific songwriter though for just a short burst. When he turned 21 he was awarded a $105,000 insurance payment ($991,000 in today’s money). He traveled to England to experience the music scene there right after his 21st birthday. It was in England that he met Paul Simon who was similarly performing in coffee bars to make a buck.

Frank had amassed an impressive collection of folk songs and Simon agreed to produce his first album. In that album was the song, “Blues Run the Game” as well as the song, “Marlene. Simon and Garfunkel and dozens of others including John Mayer, Counting Crows, and Nick Drake, have covered “Blues Run the Game”.

Soon after Frank’s first album he dropped out. He developed severe depression and he couldn’t stay in the race. He found a wife and had a child who died of cystic fibrosis. This further deepened Jackson's depression and soon after his marriage ended in divorce.. He had long bouts of homelessness and moves back to live with his parents in Buffalo. He was adrift and in his early 50’s, directionless, when he was invited to live in a friends extra room in Woodstock. He was waiting at a bus stop in Queens when he was shot and blinded in his left eye by a beebie gun fired by pranking kids. He died a few years later, broke, obese, and an alcoholic, of pneumonia at age 56.

A YouTube search of the song "Blues Run the Game" will show over 20 covers. It has no chorus. It is a series of verses but it’s quite poignant and sublime. His is my favorite version for obvious reasons. It encapsulates the unfortunate life of Jackson C Frank. He’s firmly entrenched in the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame. A documentary about his tumultuous life called "Blues Run the Game" was made as well as a couple of books written about the life of Jackson C. Frank. Another documentary about the enigmatic and talented man of hardship is due out in 2021.

“And though the fire had burned her life out
It left me little more
I am a crippled singer
And it evens up the score, Marlene”