''Jackson C. Frank'' is the debut album by Jackson C. Frank, released in December 1965 by

Columbia (EMI) Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1917 as an offshoot of the American Columbia Phonograph Company, it became an independent British-owned company in 1922 in a managemen ...

. It was the only studio album he released before his death.

Background

The album was produced in 1965 by

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

in London, and both Al Stewart and

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 ...

attended the recording. The album features Frank on guitar and vocals with Simon and Stewart providing an occasional second guitar. Frank was reportedly so nervous that in order to play and sing, he had to have screens around him. The album was recorded in less than three hours in London at CBS Studios.

Legacy

Upon release, the album failed to chart and sold poorly. After the failure of the album, Frank attempted to track down Simon, who he believed owned the rights to his songs. He went into seclusion and died decades later, never having released another recording. The album has been re-released under three different titles and four different cover arts. The first re-release was released in 1978 by

B&C Records B&C Records (which stood for Beat & Commercial) was a British record label run by Trojan Records' owner, Lee Gopthal. It existed primarily between May 1969 and September 1972. In 1971, the progressive and folk artists that were still signed to ...

, changing the title to ''Jackson Again'' with a new illustrated cover. In 1996, the album was re-released as ''Blues Run the Game'' by Mooncrest on CD with a photograph of Frank. In 2001, a second CD edition was released by

Castle Music Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's productio ...

on November 19, 2001 which restored the original title and cover. In 2013, the album was issued on CD with yet another alternate cover by Earth Recordings.

Covers and media appearances

"Blues Run the Game" has been covered by artists including

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist Mil ...

Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter ...

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognit ...

Bonnie Dobson Bonnie Dobson (born November 13, 1940, Toronto, Ontario, Canada)"Bonnie Dobson"< ...

, Mark Lanegan and

Laura Marling Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is a British folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for the same award at the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 Brit A ...

. The song also appeared in the film '' The Old Man & the Gun''. "I Want to Be Alone" (also known as "Dialogue") appeared on the soundtrack for the film ''

Daft Punk's Electroma ''Daft Punk's Electroma'' (also known as ''Electroma'') is a 2006 avant-garde science fiction film directed by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk. The story revolves around the quest of two robots (the band members, played by Peter Hurteau ...

''. "My Name Is Carnival" appeared in the film '' Joker''. The protagonist

Arthur Fleck ''Joker'' is a 2019 American psychological drama thriller film directed by Todd Phillips, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver. The film, based on DC Comics characters, stars Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker and serves as a standalo ...

specifically mentions the song as Fleck calls his clown persona "Carnival". "Milk and Honey" appears in the film ''

The Brown Bunny ''The Brown Bunny'' is a 2003 experimental road drama film written, directed, produced, photographed and edited by Vincent Gallo. Starring Gallo and Chloë Sevigny, it tells the story of a motorcycle racer on a cross-country drive who is haunte ...

'' directed by

Vincent Gallo Vincent Gallo (born 1961) is an American actor and director. He has had supporting roles in films such as ''Arizona Dream'' (1993), ''The House of the Spirits'' (1993), ''Palookaville'' (1995), and '' The Funeral'' (1996). His lead roles include ...

and was also on the official soundtrack album for the film and heavily featured in the trailer for the movie.

Track listing

Personnel

* Jackson C. Frank – guitar, vocals * Al Stewart – guitar picking on "Yellow Walls" Production *Producer: Paul Simon *Liner notes: Jackson C. Frank, Bert Jansch

References

{{Authority control 1965 debut albums EMI Columbia Records albums Jackson C. Frank albums Castle Communications albums B&C Records albums Albums produced by Paul Simon