Don Roscoe Joseph III (July 26, 1937 – May 26, 2015), professionally known as Rocky Frisco and Rocky Curtiss, was an American musician. He was best known as the longtime pianist for

J. J. Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and sound engineer. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Mark Knop ...

, and for his role in the development of the music style known as the

Tulsa Sound The Tulsa sound is a popular musical style that originated in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during the second half of the twentieth century. It is a mix of blues, blues rock, country, rock and roll and swamp pop sounds of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Ar ...

.Jennifer Chancellor
"Now hear this: Tulsa Sound stalwart Rocky Frisco keeps the music coming"
''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 202 ...

'', December 28, 2007.

Music career

Frisco was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. He moved to

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

and attended Central High School in the 1950s, where he met J. J. Cale and graduated in 1955.Curtis Killman
"Musician A Candidate For Council"
''

'', December 13, 1997. Frisco and Cale played together in Gene Crose's band starting in 1957. In the fall of 1958, Frisco moved to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

to form a band for

Clyde Stacy Haskell Clyde Stacy (August 11, 1936 – November 6, 2013) was an American rockabilly singer and guitarist who recorded in the 1950s as the leader of Clyde Stacy & The Nitecaps. He is credited as a founder of the "Tulsa Sound". Biography St ...

. When Stacy retired in 1959, Frisco became lead singer for the band, the Four Flames, recording a Columbia Harmony album in New York entitled ''The Big Ten'', as "Rocky Curtiss and the Harmony Flames." Frisco performed voice work for radio and television commercials, most recently for Chris Nikel and Nelson Mazda in the Tulsa area. During the mid-1960s, Frisco, disgusted with the music business after having thousands of dollars in royalties embezzled by an

A & R Artists and repertoire (colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumentalist ...

man he trusted, quit playing, moved to Ontario, Canada, and worked for IBM and raced MGs and Mini Coopers at Harewood Acres and Mosport. He drove a Morris Mini in the preliminary races for the 1967 Canadian Grand Prix, reverting to the name Don Joseph. In 1972, he returned to Tulsa and started playing again, first with the Don White Band and then with the John D. LeVan Band. In the years since, he played with Bill David, Gus Hardin, Tommy Overstreet and others. Frisco rejoined Cale's band in 1994, and toured the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and Europe that summer and fall, with TV broadcasts from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Cale's 1996 tour included a concert on March 29 at Carnegie Hall with The Band. Frisco can be heard on the Cale CDs ''J. J. Cale Live'', ''

To Tulsa And Back ''To Tulsa and Back'' is the 13th album by J. J. Cale, released in 2004. Background Between 1996 and 2003, Cale released no new music but admiration for his work and musicianship only grew among his fans and admirers. In the 2002 memoir ''Shak ...

'', and '' Roll On''. He wrote and sang "The Pursuit of Happiness" as well as on

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

Crossroads Guitar Festival The Crossroads Guitar Festival is a series of music festivals and benefit concerts founded by Eric Clapton. The festivals benefit the Crossroads Centre founded by Eric Clapton, a drug treatment center in Antigua. The concerts showcase a variety ...

DVD set and the J. J. Cale Band's DVD tour video for ''To Tulsa and Back''.IMDb
"Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival"
''

'', October 2004. In May 2008, Frisco was inducted into the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame with a lifetime achievement award. On September 17, 2009, he was inducted into the

Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, honors Oklahoma musicians for their lifetime achievements in music. The induction ceremony and concert are held each year in Muskogee. Since its establishment in 1997, the Hall of Fa ...

as a winner of the Eldon Shamblin Session Musician Award."Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame 2009 Inductees"
, ''

'', February 21, 2010. In April 2012, he received the Bare Bones Film Festival's "Living Legend" Award.

Bands

Bands and artists Frisco played and recorded with include: * Steve Pryor * Empty Pockets * Brad Absher * Tom Skinner's Science Project * Larry Spears *

Susan Herndon Susan Herndon is an American singer-songwriter from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The ''Tulsa World'' has called her one of the "region's most talented musicians;" while the (now-defunct) free paper ''Urban Tulsa Weekly'' has praised Herndon's ability to "de ...

Lata Gouveia Lata (born February 19, 1975 in Lisbon) is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a well-known Red Dirt artist in Oklahoma and a reference of Americana music in Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium and the north of France. Life and career ...

* Dustin Pittsley * Jesse Aycock *

* Dustin and Jesse's Higher Education * The Kevin Phariss Band * Rodney Lay *

Widespread Panic Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guit ...

* Dennis Crouch * Blazon Pearl * Snuggle Naked * Li'l Tee * The Formerly Withs * The Dylan Whitney Band * Tex Waggoner * Whirligig

Acting

Frisco occasionally appeared in films and videos. He can be seen in the short film ''Melvin, A Midwestern Tale'', and in the 2003 Disney remake of '' Where the Red Fern Grows''.IMDb
"Where the Red Fern Grows"
'' Where the Red Fern Grows'', 2003. He also appeared in Lata Gouveia's documentary ''Red Dirt: Songs from the Dust''. In July 2011, Frisco appeared in the full-length feature ''Red Dirt on 66: A Road Movie''.

Personal life and politics

Frisco, known among friends as the "Roxster," was a talented songwriter and novelist, whose published and unpublished works remain an insightful representation of his unique, ongoing study of life. His broad interests extended to restoring English Austin and Morris

Mini Cooper Mini Cooper may refer to: *Cars of the original Mini series called the "Mini Cooper", made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors 1961–1971, and 1990–2000 *Cars of the Mini (marque), including a number of different models produced ...

s and MGs, and work as a general mechanic, repairing a wide variety of vehicles to supplement his income as a musician. He was a great fan of Terry Pratchett, reflected by the fact that his personal Mini Cooper was nicknamed "The Luggage". He was also an accomplished silversmith and stone cutter, producing a professional collection of refined artisan jewelry ranging from pendants to belt buckles. Frisco was outspoken in his views of life, and was an occasional candidate for political office in Tulsa.Brian Barber
"Five candidates compete for District 4 seat"
''

'', February 24, 2008.Rocky Frisco
"political questionnaire"
Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, July 23, 2009.

Discography

* ''Rocky Frisco'' (1996, independent release) * ''Rocky Frisco (Expanded)'' (2014) * ''An intimate moment with... the Legendary Rocky Frisco'' (2015)

References

External links

Rocky Frisco's homepage
*
"The Legendary Rocky Frisco: Our Exclusive Interview with The Roxter"
(interview with Rocky Frisco) at ''Culturespill'', July 9, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Frisco, Rocky American rock pianists American male pianists Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma Central High School (Tulsa, Oklahoma) alumni 1937 births 2015 deaths Musicians from St. Louis 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians