| Name |
Franklin Taft Melrose |
| Nickname |
Broadway Rastus; Kansas City Frank |
| Birth |
26 Nov 1907 |
Sumner, Lawrence County, Illinois, USA  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Also Known As |
Franklyn Taft Melrose |
| Death |
1 Sep 1941 |
Hammond, Lake County, Indiana, USA |
| Burial |
Mount Hope Cemetery, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA [1] |
 Siblings |
4 brothers and 2 sisters |
| | 1. Walter Lawrence Melrose, b. 26 Oct 1889, Sumner, Lawrence County, Illinois, USA d. May 1973, Barrington, Cook and Lake Counties, Illinois, USA (Age 83 years)
▻ Marcella ? | | | 2. Lester Franklin Melrose, b. 14 Dec 1891, Sumner, Lawrence County, Illinois, USA d. 12 Apr 1968, Clermont, Lake County, Florida, USA (Age 76 years)
▻ Blanche Minerva Richard, m. 1924 | | | 3. Muriel Anna Melrose, b. 4 Nov 1895, Illinois, USA d. Jun 1974, Downers Grove, Du Page County, Illinois, USA (Age 78 years)
▻ William E. Donaldson | | | 4. Mamie Melrose, b. 17 Sep 1898, Illinois, USA d. May 1971, Midlothian, Cook County, Illinois, USA (Age 72 years)
▻ Karl Smith | | | 5. Belle Bertha Melrose, b. 14 Dec 1901, Illinois, USA d. 20 Nov 1994, Oak Lawn, Cook County, Illinois, USA (Age 92 years)
▻ James Lyons | | | 6. Franklin Taft Melrose, b. 26 Nov 1907, Sumner, Lawrence County, Illinois, USA d. 1 Sep 1941, Hammond, Lake County, Indiana, USA (Age 33 years)
▻ Frances Caroline Sacerich, m. 1934 | | | 7. Hubert Lee Melrose, b. cir 1911, Illinois, USA d. 31 Dec 1953 (Age 42 years) |
|
| Notes |
- From The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz: Melrose, Frank(lyn Taft) [Broadway Rastus, Kansas City Frank] (b. Sumner, IL, 26 Nov 1907; d nr Hammond, IN, 1 Sept 1941). Pianist and bandleader. His first instrument was violin, which he continued to play throughout his career, though never for a recording. Active mainly in and around Chicago, he recorded initially with Junie Cobb and the cornetist Jimmy Cobb (1928) and then as a leader (1929-1930), sometimes using his pseudonyms Kansas City Frank and Broadway Rastus. In 1929 he made recordings with Johnny and Baby Dodds in the Beale Street Washboard Band and with the Cobbs in the Windy Rhythm Kings and the Kansas City Tin Roof Stompers (Aunt Jemima Stomp/St. Louis Bound, Bruns, 7066). He also worked in Kansas City, New York, Detroit, and St. Louis, occasionally as a violinist, but more often playing piano in a vigorous barrelhouse style; Jelly Roll Stomp/Pass the Jug (1929, Bruns, 7062) provides a good example of his work in this vein. After recording in 1930 with the Cellar Boys (a group that included Wingy Manone, Frank Teschemacher, and Bud Freeman) he performed with the clarinetist Bud Jacobson in 1933 at the World's Fair in Chicago. Thereafter he remained in that city. working regularly with Pete Daily in various clubs (through the 1930s) and with George Barnes (c1937). Melrose was evidently murdered in 1941, but the circumstances of his death are unknown. His brothers were the music publishers and promoters Walter and Lester Melrose. For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Melrose.
|
| Person ID |
I13301 |
Bryan-Martin |
| Last Modified |
25 Mar 2023 |
Genealogy of the Bryan and Martin Families
1907 - 1941 (33 years)
