Frankie Newton
Frankie Newton (né William Frank Newton; January 4, 1906 – March 11, 1954) was an American jazz trumpeter from Emory, Virginia, United States. He played in several New York City bands in the 1920s and 1930s, including those led by Sam Wooding, Chick Webb, Charlie Barnet, Andy Kirk and Charlie "Fess" Johnson. In the 1940s, he played with bands led by Lucky Millinder and Pete Brown. He played in clubs in New York and Boston, with musicians such as pianist Art Tatum, pianist James P. Johnson, drummer Sid Catlett and clarinetist Edmond Hall. He accompanied Bessie Smith on her final recordings (November 24, 1933), Maxine Sullivan on 'Loch Lomond', and Billie Holiday on her original "Strange Fruit" session in 1939. Between March 1937 and August 1939, eight recording sessions issued under Newton's name were produced. Three sessions in 1937 were made for Irving Mills's Variety label. In 1939, Newton recorded a six-song session with Victor, a four-song session for Vocalion, two individual one-song sessions for Blue Note, and finally one two-song session for Vocalion — 14 records in all. He also played with Art Tatum on extended versions of "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Oh, Lady Be Good!", recorded in Harlem after hours. These finally came out in 1973 as part of Tatum's album God Is in the House, first on LP and later on CD. Politically, Newton was known to be a communist. In homage, the communist historian Eric Hobsbawn wrote jazz criticism for the New Statesman under the pen name "Francis Newton". |
Birth and Death Data: Born January 4, 1906 (Blacksburg), Died March 11, 1954 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1939
Roles Represented in DAHR: trumpet, leader, vocalist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 40 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-57709 | 10-in. | 11/19/1929 | Lawd, lawd | Cecil Scott and his Bright Boys | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal chorus | vocalist, instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BVE-57710 | 10-in. | 11/19/1929 | In a corner | Cecil Scott and his Bright Boys | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BVE-57711 | 10-in. | 11/19/1929 | Bright boy blues | Cecil Scott and his Bright Boys | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BVE-57712 | 10-in. | 11/19/1929 | Springfield stomp | Cecil Scott and his Bright Boys | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-06462 | 10-in. | 3/26/1937 | The love bug will bite you (if you don't watch out) | Teddy Hill NBC Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-06463 | 10-in. | 3/26/1937 | Would you like to buy a dream? | Beatrice Douglas ; Teddy Hill NBC Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-06464 | 10-in. | 3/26/1937 | Big Boy Blue | Bill Dillard ; Teddy Hill NBC Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-06465 | 10-in. | 3/26/1937 | Where is the sun? | Beatrice Douglas ; Teddy Hill NBC Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-06466 | 10-in. | 3/26/1937 | The Harlem twister | Teddy Hill NBC Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-06467 | 10-in. | 3/26/1937 | My Marie | Teddy Hill NBC Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-07925 | 10-in. | 4/23/1937 | I know now | Bill Dillard ; Teddy Hill NBC Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-07926 | 10-in. | 4/23/1937 | The lady who couldn't be kissed | Bill Dillard ; Teddy Hill NBC Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-07927 | 10-in. | 4/23/1937 | (Have you forgotten) The you and me that used to be | Bill Dillard ; Teddy Hill NBC Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-07928 | 10-in. | 4/23/1937 | A study in brown | Teddy Hill NBC Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-07929 | 10-in. | 4/23/1937 | Twilight in Turkey | Teddy Hill NBC Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-07930 | 10-in. | 4/23/1937 | China boy | Teddy Hill NBC Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-031460 | 10-in. | 1/13/1939 | Rosetta | Frankie Newton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet, leader | |
Victor | BS-031461 | 10-in. | 1/13/1939 | Minor jive | Frankie Newton Orchestra ; Hugues Panassié | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet, leader | |
Victor | BS-031462 | 10-in. | 1/13/1939 | The world is waiting for the sunrise | Frankie Newton Orchestra ; Hugues Panassié | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet, leader | |
Victor | BS-031463 | 10-in. | 1/13/1939 | Who? | Frankie Newton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet, leader | |
Victor | BS-031464 | 10-in. | 1/13/1939 | The blues my baby gave to me | Frankie Newton Orchestra ; Hugues Panassié | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet, leader | |
Victor | BS-031465 | 10-in. | 1/13/1939 | Romping (Romping at Victor) | Frankie Newton Orchestra ; Hugues Panassié | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet, leader | |
Columbia | W152577 | 10-in. | 11/24/1933 | Do your duty | Buck and his Band ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Columbia | W152578 | 10-in. | 11/24/1933 | Gimme a pigfoot | Buck and his Band ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Columbia | W152579 | 10-in. | 11/24/1933 | Take me for a buggy ride | Buck and his Band ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Newton, Frankie," accessed November 21, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102906.
Newton, Frankie. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102906.
"Newton, Frankie." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Frankie Newton
Discogs: Frankie Newton
Allmusic: Frankie Newton
Grove: Frankie Newton
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Newton, Frankie - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80125077
Wikidata: Frankie Newton - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1445089
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/71578865
MusicBrainz: Frankie Newton - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/a0aa1e6e-a60c-4a78-863d-d201cedbd092
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