Heritage Bridge Award 2007 recipient is bandleader J. Frank Love, Jr.
The award ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 20 at 11:30 A.M. at the Arts Center during some of the opening festivities of this year’s Art of Sound Festival. The Frank Love Orchestra plays on Friday night, October 19th at 8 PM at the First National Bank Ed Hamilton Room. Check the Art of Sound web site for ticket and other information.
Frank Love has been making music in and around Cleveland County for over 60 years. Most of the time it’s been music in a big way, as in “Big Band” music. He has quite a following with the current versions of the Frank Love Orchestra (Big and small bands). But a lot of people may not know that Frank started out playing his trumpet in the 1930’s even before the WWII years and the grand popularity of Dorsey, Goodman and all the rest in the 40’s.
A good friend and fellow musician from Shelby was trumpeter Johnny Best. Best later moved to California and had a career that included playing in Glenn Miller’s band. Several years ago, Frank and other of Johnny’s friends brought him back to Shelby to play a concert in his hometown.
2005 Heritage Bridge Award recipient and guitarist Ray Ledford will join his longtime friend Frank Love to play a few numbers during the presentation. Also on the program to make the presentation are Patty Osborne Lee and Nancy Morgan. Patty, who went on to become Miss North Carolina in 1948, was a young singer from Lawndale who sang in one of Frank's early bands. When Paty married, she suggested Nancy Elam who sang with the band the next two years. Representing some of Frank's later successful efforts to organize his big band and on into the current version will be Homer Hayworth, Shelby High Band Director for many years.
Watch the newspaper and the Art of Sound web site for more details on Frank’s musical history and the way he has kept the rich sounds of the big band era alive for so many to enjoy.
For more information on the Cleveland County Arts Council/Art of Sound Festival's Heritage Bridge Award, please click here.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
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