Frank Motley, Jr. (December 30, 1923 – May 31, 1998) was an American R&B and jazz musician and bandleader who worked in Canada for much of his career. His main instrument was the trumpet, on which he was known for playing two simultaneously. He also sang.

Biography

Born in Cheraw, South Carolina, Motley took trumpet lessons when young from

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

, who was from the same town. He developed a technique of playing two trumpets at the same time, becoming known as "Dual Trumpet" and "Two Horn" Motley. He took a degree in mechanical engineering at

South Carolina State College South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina, is a me ...

, before joining the military and performing in the Navy Band entertaining troops in the Pacific. After the end of the war he played in nightclubs in New York City before settling in Washington, D.C. and forming his own band in 1949. Biography, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 8 October 2016 Bill Munson, "Motley, Frank Jr.", in Edward Komara, Peter Lee (eds.), ''The Blues Encyclopedia'', Routledge, 2004, p.710
/ref> He recorded extensively for Lillian Claiborne's DC Records from 1951, and many of his recordings were licensed to other labels including

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

and Specialty. His band, the Motley Crew, included singer and keyboardist Curley Bridges, drummer Thomas E. ‘TNT’ Tribble, and vocalist Elsie "Angel Face" Kenley (1930–1991).Marv Goldberg, "Angel Face", ''Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks''
Retrieved 12 October 2016 From 1952, Motley played mainly in Canada, marrying and moving to Toronto in 1955. However, he also continued to perform and record in the US. His biggest commercial success came in 1963, when his version of William Bell's song "Any Other Way", which he recorded with vocalist

Jackie Shane Jackie Shane (May 15, 1940 – February 21, 2019) was an American soul and rhythm and blues singer, who was most prominent in the local music scene of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the 1960s. Considered to be a pioneer transgender performer,

for a small label in Boston, became a regional hit, rising to number 2 on the local Toronto pop chart. He disbanded the Motley Crew in 1966 and formed a new band in Toronto, the Hitch-Hikers, at first with Shane and then with singer Earle "The Mighty Pope" Heedram. The band broke up in 1970. Motley continued to perform with another new band, the Bridge Crossings, until the mid 1980s. In declining health, Motley then retired to live in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, but continued to play in local dance bands. He died in Durham in 1998, aged 74.

References

External links

Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Motley, Frank 1923 births 1998 deaths People from Cheraw, South Carolina American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 20th-century African-American musicians