All I knew about this guy was that he had some beautiful songs. Then when I looked him up in order to post him here, I found out he was just about the poorest sonofabitch in the world and it made me like him even more. We all love a sad-sack:
“Trauma and misfortune have dogged Frank throughout his life. At the age of 11,
a fire in his elementary school killed many of his classmates, and left him with
burns over most of his body…. Stage fright, depression, and an end of the funds from the insurance setttlement that had enabled him to travel in high style, meant that he returned to the States in 1969 without releasing another album….. Based in Woodstock, NY, Frank continued his songwriting, but family and depression problems resulted in homelessness by the mid-’70s. For most of thenext two decades, Frank lived on the streets or hospitals, too discouraged to contact old friends and family. He was further hobbled by arthritis, inappropriate medication for his mental problems, and a shooting incident that left him legally blind in his left eye.”
