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Artist
Left Hand Frank
12+ albums
blueselectric chicago bluesAllspotify
about
Left Hand Frank was a fun loving, powerfully built bluesman who liked to amuse audiences in Chicago’s South Side blues clubs with comical Donald Duck imitations and muscle-flexing tricks. But what crowds enjoyed even more was the way Frank Craig played guitar. Employing a confident, four-fingered picking style, he played his axe upside down, like several other left-handed bluesmen, with the treble strings at the top. And he played some of the strongest, most distinctive vintage blues to be heard in Chicago. Frank worked in countless bands during his nearly 40 years in Chicago. He was probably the best musician in most of those groups. But until 1978, Frank never played guitar or sang on a record. Frank found that it was more fun to be a sideman, and he never thought much about becoming a headliner or leading a band. “Mainly, I don’t like to be worried with it,” Frank explained. “I’ve had quite a few jobs myself, but guys don’t want to act right. It’s too much of a headache. I’d switch over and put that headache on somebody else. I hate to have a headache.” So Frank left the band leading headaches to bluesmen like Junior Wells, Little Walter, Hound Dog Taylor, and Willie Cobbs. Frank was happy just to play guitar or bass as part of someone else’s band. When Frank started playing in his hometown of Greenville, Mississippi, he didn’t even have to worry about bands. He could stroll the streets, playing by himself to earn tips from passersby. He got his first guitar on his
