Frank Stokes
Frank Stokes (January 1, 1877 or 1888 – September 12, 1955) was an American blues musician, songster, and blackface minstrel, who is considered by many musicologists to be the father of the Memphis blues guitar style. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Tennessee (state of the United States of America), Died September 12, 1955 (Memphis (city in and county seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1937
Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, composer, vocalist, lyricist, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | BVE-41821 | 10-in. | 2/1/1928 | Right now blues | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with 2 guitars | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | BVE-41822 | 10-in. | 2/1/1928 | Downtown blues | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with 2 guitars | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | BVE-41825 | 10-in. | 2/1/1928 | Bedtime blues | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with 2 guitars | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | BVE-41826 | 10-in. | 2/1/1928 | What's the matter blues | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with 2 guitars | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | BVE-45419 | 10-in. | 8/27/1928 | Mistreatin' blues | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with guitar (self-accompaniment) | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer | |
| Victor | BVE-45420 | 10-in. | 8/27/1928 | It won't be long now | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with guitar (self-accompaniment) | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer | |
| Victor | BVE-45421 | 10-in. | 8/27/1928 | Nehi mamma blues | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with guitar (self-accompaniment) | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer | |
| Victor | BVE-45422 | 10-in. | 8/27/1928 | I got mine | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with guitar (self-accompaniment) | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer | |
| Victor | BVE-45426 | 10-in. | 8/28/1928 | Stomp that thing | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with guitar (self-accompaniment) | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer | |
| Victor | BVE-45427 | 10-in. | 8/28/1928 | Killing me | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with guitar (self-accompaniment) | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer | |
| Victor | BVE-45452 | 10-in. | 8/30/1928 | 'Tain't nobody's business | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with 2 guitars | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer | |
| Victor | BVE-45453 | 10-in. | 8/30/1928 | 'Tain't nobody's business | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with 2 guitars | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer | |
| Victor | BVE-45454 | 10-in. | 8/30/1928 | Take me back | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with 2 guitars | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer | |
| Victor | BVE-45455 | 10-in. | 8/30/1928 | How long | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with 2 guitars | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer | |
| Victor | BVE-55573 | 10-in. | 9/23/1929 | South Memphis blues | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with violin and guitar | vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Victor | BVE-55574 | 10-in. | 9/23/1929 | Bunker Hill blues | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with violin and guitar | vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Victor | BVE-55584 | 10-in. | 9/25/1929 | Right now blues | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with violin and guitar | vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Victor | BVE-55591 | 10-in. | 9/25/1929 | Shiney town blues | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with violin and guitar | vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Victor | BVE-56303 | 10-in. | 9/30/1929 | I'm going away blues | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with violin and guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer | |
| Victor | BVE-56304 | 10-in. | 9/30/1929 | Old sometime blues | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with violin and guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer | |
| Victor | BVE-56305 | 10-in. | 9/30/1929 | Frank Stokes' dream | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with guitar (self-accompaniment) | vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Victor | BVE-56306 | 10-in. | 9/30/1929 | Memphis rounders blues | Frank Stokes | Male vocal solo, with guitar (self-accompaniment) | vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Brunswick | DAL210 | 10-in. | 6/6/1937 | She's doggin' me | Roy Newman and his Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | songwriter |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Stokes, Frank," accessed December 25, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106849.
Stokes, Frank. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 25, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106849.
"Stokes, Frank." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 25 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Stokes, Frank - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n93036060
Wikidata: Frank Stokes - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q708423
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/29719441
MusicBrainz: Frank Stokes - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/35992a97-e1c5-4987-96dd-9a03f358a69d
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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