Frank Wakefield (1934–2024), bluegrass mandolin virtuoso
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2 min readFrank Wakefield was a bluegrass mandolinist and songwriter who innovated new techniques on his instrument.
- Died: April 26, 2024 (Who else died on April 26?)
- Details of death: Died at his home in Saratoga Springs, New York of complications of COPD at the age of 89.
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Frank Wakefield’s legacy
Born in Tennessee and later moving to Dayton, Ohio, Wakefield began learning music as a young boy and could play guitar, bass, and harmonica in addition to his signature instrument, the mandolin. He played alongside his brother, Ralph, as the Wakefield Brothers, and they were playing on Dayton radio when he was still in his teens.
Wakefield began receiving more widespread recognition in the 1950s as he collaborated with bluegrass great Red Allen (1930–1993). In 1953, Wakefield’s composition, “New Camptown Races,” became his first recording, and it’s now a bluegrass standard. Wakefield’s other notable songs include “Catnip” and “End of the Rainbow.” He continued collaborating with greats of bluegrass and other genres: He played and recorded with the Greenbrier Boys, toured alongside Jerry Garcia (1942–1995) and the Grateful Dead, and performed at Carnegie Hall with Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) and the New York Philharmonic.
A hallmark of Wakefield’s career was his innovation on the mandolin. He played his instrument in surprising ways, imagining new tunings and chord changes. He played bluegrass in surprising ways, too, blending it with classical music as he composed sonatas for mandolin and played existing classical works in a bluegrass style. Wakefield was also known for his colorful speech, which he called “balking tackwards.” He would deliberately twist sentences around, greeting people with “Goodbye” and saying “Nice to meet me” or, at a show, “Don’t you give us an encore, now” as the band launched into an encore.
Wakefield on songwriting
“I just get ideas from playing the mandolin all the time. I only play about an hour a day seven days a week, but when I want to write new tunes, I play a couple of hours a day ... and when I am playing a lot of notes, then I just start putting pieces together. This is how I come up with a tune that don't sound like other tunes.” — Mondozine.com [https://www.mandozine.com/media/CGOW/wakefield.html]
Tributes to Frank Wakefield
Full obituary: The New York Times
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