Frank Christian (singer-songwriter)
Encyclopedia
Frank Christian is a Greenwich Village
-based singer-songwriter
and guitarist
. His best known song, "Three Flights Up" was recorded by Nanci Griffith
for her Grammy award
-winning 1992 release Other Voices, Other Rooms.
Christian has also had much success as a sideman. He has appeared on dozens of albums, backing such performers as Dave Van Ronk
, Suzanne Vega
, John Gorka
, Nanci Griffith
, and The Smithereens
.
He began his guitar studies with the jazz guitarist Roosevelt Span.
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
-based singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
. His best known song, "Three Flights Up" was recorded by Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
for her Grammy award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning 1992 release Other Voices, Other Rooms.
Christian has also had much success as a sideman. He has appeared on dozens of albums, backing such performers as Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
, Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"...
, John Gorka
John Gorka
John Gorka is a contemporary American folk musician. In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine called him "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what has been dubbed the New Folk Movement."-Biography:...
, Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
, and The Smithereens
The Smithereens
The Smithereens are a rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio , Jim Babjak , Mike Mesaros , and Dennis Diken...
.
He began his guitar studies with the jazz guitarist Roosevelt Span.
Discography
- Somebody's Got to Do it (1982)
- The Song Project (1985) - a collaboration with Lucy KaplanskyLucy KaplanskyLucy Kaplansky is an American folk musician based in New York City. Kaplansky also has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Yeshiva University.-Biography:...
, Tom IntondiTom IntondiTom Intondi was an American singer-songwriter first based in Greenwich Village and later in the Northwest. Intondi recorded three solo albums, and toured and recorded with a collaboration called The Song Project that also included Lucy Kaplansky, Frank Christian, and Martha Hogen.Intondi died of...
, and Martha Hogen. - Where Were You Last Night (1992)
- From My Hands (1995)
- Mr. So And So (1996)
Other appearances
- Especially for YouEspecially for You (The Smithereens album)Especially for You is the first full-length album from New Jersey-based rock band The Smithereens.The album is notable for the hit "Blood and Roses", which has been featured in multiple movie and TV productions. Producer Don Dixon's co-production work on R.E.M.'s Murmur and Reckoning albums added...
- The SmithereensThe SmithereensThe Smithereens are a rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio , Jim Babjak , Mike Mesaros , and Dennis Diken...
(1986) - Other Voices, Other Rooms - Nanci GriffithNanci GriffithNanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
(1993)