234:, a tent show that toured the South. During this period of touring, Stokes developed a professionalism that set him apart from many of the more rural, less polished blues musicians of that time and place. It is said that his performances on the southern minstrel and vaudeville circuit around this time influenced the country singer
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Around 1920, Stokes settled in
Oakville, Tennessee, where he went back to work as a blacksmith. He teamed up again with Sane, playing dances, picnics, fish fries, saloons, and parties in his free time. The two joined Jack Kelly's Jug Busters to play at white country clubs, parties, and dances. Stokes
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also recorded. At this session, the emphasis was on blues rather than the older songs that were also part of Stokes's repertoire. Stokes recorded again for Victor that August, playing "I Got Mine", one of a body of pre-blues songs about gambling, stealing and living high. He also recorded the more
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298:. Stokes and Batts were a team, as evidenced by these records, which are both traditional and wildly original, but their style had fallen out of favor with the record-buying public. Stokes was still a popular live performer, however, appearing in medicine shows, the
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In 1929, Stokes and Sane recorded again for
Paramount, resuming their billing as the Beale Street Sheiks for a few cuts. In September, Stokes was back with Victor to make what were to be his last recordings, this time without Sane but with Will Batts playing the
168:, located two miles north of the Mississippi state line. There is uncertainty over his year of birth; his daughter and later sources reported 1888, but the researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc give 1877, the date on his
278:
soft drink and the knee-high skirts that were fashionable at the time. Sane joined Stokes for the second day of the August 1928 session, and they produced a two-part version of "
254:. "The fluid guitar interplay between Stokes and Sane, combined with a propulsive beat, witty lyrics, and Stokes's stentorian voice, make their recordings irresistible." Their
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Stokes died of a stroke in
Memphis on September 12, 1955. He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery, in Memphis. In 2017, Frank Stokes was inducted into the
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modern "Nehi Mama" (or "Nehi Mama Blues", also rendered as "Nehi Mamma Blues"), the title being a pun on the name of the
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on weekends to sing and play the guitar with Sane, with whom he formed a long-term musical partnership. Together, they
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but whose origin lies in the pre-blues era. The Sheiks also continued to busk on the streets and perform at parties.
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How the Blues
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The Sheiks next recorded at a session for Victor
Records in February 1928, at which
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His parents died when he was a child, and he was raised by his stepfather in
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and Sane performed on Beale Street as the Beale Street Sheiks and first
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on the streets and in Church's Park (now W. C. Handy Park) on
Memphis's
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133:(January 1, 1877 or 1888 – September 12, 1955) was an American
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in August 1927. Stokes eventually cut 38 sides for
Paramount and
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In the mid-1910s, Stokes joined another
Mississippi musician,
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Illustrated Frank Stokes / Beale Street Sheiks discography
493:. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. pp. 238, 460.
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The Victor
Recordings in Chronological Order 1928ā1929
203:. By the turn of the century, Stokes was working as a
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Frank Stokes with Dan Sane & Will Bats 1927ā1929
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553:The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray
736:Frank Stokes The Victor Recordings 1928ā1929
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582:. Rev. ed. New York: Da Capo Press. p. 485.
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1053:20th-century African-American male singers
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282:", a song well known in later versions by
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382:"Chicken You Can Roost Behind the Moon"
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555:. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 169.
489:Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013).
370:"Ain't Goin' to Do Like I Used to Do"
179:. He learned to play the guitar as a
1038:People from Shelby County, Tennessee
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72:September 12, 1955 (aged 67 or 78)
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453:Tain't Nobody's Business if I Do
280:Tain't Nobody's Business if I Do
183:in Tutwiler and, after 1895, in
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99:Singer, guitarist, songwriter
726:Frank Stokes: Memphis School
491:Blues: A Regional Experience
333:Creator of the Memphis Blues
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442:"Rockin' on the Hill Blues"
262:in duets with her husband,
258:style influenced the young
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1003:American street performers
654:February 10, 2006, at the
637:December 30, 2005, at the
521:. TheDeadRockStarsClub.com
315:Memphis Music Hall of Fame
1028:Guitarists from Tennessee
998:Paramount Records artists
988:American blues guitarists
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464:"What's the Matter Blues"
430:"Mr. Crump Don't Like It"
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461:"Wasn't That Doggin' Me"
424:"Memphis Rounders Blues"
364:Songs recorded by Stokes
351:The Best of Frank Stokes
300:Ringling Brothers Circus
207:, traveling 25 miles to
162:Shelby County, Tennessee
55:Shelby County, Tennessee
1048:20th-century guitarists
978:Memphis blues musicians
304:Clarksdale, Mississippi
52:January 1, 1877 or 1888
1013:Singers from Tennessee
993:American blues singers
848:African-American music
670:. Document-records.com
551:Russell, Tony (1997).
409:"It Won't Be Long Now"
406:"I'm Going Away Blues"
310:in local juke joints.
37:Background information
689:Giles Oakley (1997).
519:"The 50s and Earlier"
445:"South Memphis Blues"
391:"Frank Stokes' Dream"
197:Cannon's Jug Stompers
185:Hernando, Mississippi
177:Tutwiler, Mississippi
164:, in the vicinity of
436:"Old Sometime Blues"
418:"Jumpin on the Hill"
339:The Remaining Titles
246:under that name for
968:19th-century births
777:American folk music
701:. p. 139/140.
614:. Thebluestrail.com
427:"Mistreatin' Blues"
415:"Jazzin' the Blues"
412:"It's a Good Thing"
195:, Elijah Avery (of
160:Stokes was born in
1008:Songster musicians
388:"Fillin' in Blues"
373:"Beale Town Bound"
75:Memphis, Tennessee
1023:Age controversies
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708:978-0-306-80743-5
693:The Devil's Music
439:"Right Now Blues"
394:"Half Cup of Tea"
288:Jimmy Witherspoon
248:Paramount Records
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616:. Retrieved
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403:"I Got Mine"
359:(Monk, 2010)
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284:Bessie Smith
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219:in Memphis.
217:Beale Street
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172:draft card.
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131:Frank Stokes
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22:Frank Stokes
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973:1955 deaths
814:(1950sā60s)
788:Appalachian
467:"You Shall"
433:"Nehi Mama"
321:Discography
308:Bukka White
271:Furry Lewis
228:buck dancer
189:Jim Jackson
170:World War I
86:Delta blues
962:Categories
942:Rockabilly
937:Honky-tonk
925:Roots rock
895:Spirituals
823:New Mexico
674:August 30,
525:August 30,
517:Doc Rock.
473:References
397:"How Long"
205:blacksmith
166:Whitehaven
137:musician,
68:1955-09-12
48:1877-01-01
932:Bluegrass
920:Americana
866:Dixieland
805:Swamp pop
156:Biography
143:blackface
828:Red dirt
793:Old-time
652:Archived
635:Archived
578:(1994).
244:recorded
193:Dan Sane
146:minstrel
139:songster
116:Vocalion
890:Ragtime
838:Western
209:Memphis
199:), and
900:Gospel
878:Zydeco
873:Creole
833:Tejano
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296:fiddle
213:busked
141:, and
120:Victor
112:Labels
82:Genres
856:Blues
800:Cajun
181:youth
135:blues
861:Jazz
703:ISBN
676:2015
620:2011
584:ISBN
557:ISBN
527:2015
495:ISBN
286:and
276:Nehi
256:duet
62:Died
42:Born
885:Jug
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