The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto Dedication To my uncle Mike, the first of many musicians in my life who made me say, “I want to play like that ” Epigraph Here’s to all the boys who came along Carr.
Dedication To my uncle Mike, the first of many musicians in my life who made me say, “I want to play like that.” Epigraph Here’s to all the boys who came along Carrying soft guitars in cardboard cases All night long And you wonder where those boys have gone? —PAUL SIMON Contents Dedication Epigraph Part Chapter Marcus Belgrave Chapter Chapter Clem Dundridge Chapter Chapter Darlene Love Chapter Chapter Chapter Leonard “Tappy” Fishman Chapter Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Abby Cruz Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Part Niles Stango Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Burt Bacharach Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Part Cecile (York) Peterson Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Roger McGuinn Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Part Pau Sanz Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Tony Bennett Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Part Paul Stanley Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Part Chapter 54 Wynton Marsalis Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Ingrid Michaelson Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 John Pizzarelli Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Acknowledgments About the Author Also by Mitch Albom Credits Copyright About the Publisher A special thanks to Vito Lafata, a brilliant guitar player, who read this book at least three times and offered his expertise A shout of gratitude to the folks at Republic Records, Avery Lipman and Tom Mackay in particular, who saw a real-life record deal for Frankie Presto’s Magic Strings Kevin and Robbie Martin are real people who make all visitors feel at home on Waiheke Island And a deep appreciation for all the public figures who made appearances in Frankie’s story, expected or not All representations, from Django to Elvis to Little Richard to Hank Williams, come from a deep admiration of their gifts And then the home team: Kerri Alexander holds everything together, all the time Marc “Rosey” Rosenthal juggles the world so I have time to write Mendel keeps the numbers, but he is still, with all due respect, a bum Chad Audi continues to exemplify that no matter how creative you get, doing for others is the most amazing legacy Trisha, Rick, Ali, and Jesse gave Frankie his first reviews And the highest thanks, always, goes to my family, who endured my music long before they endured my writing: Dad; Cara; Peter; all the uncles, aunts, and cousins; and my mother, who went to heaven during the creation of this book, leaving me to empathize with Frankie and Carmencita I must also thank every band I’ve ever been in, for teaching me that bandmates behave like family, good and bad (Those bands include the Crystal Reflection, the Lucky Tiger Grease Stick Band, the ones in college, Streetwise, the Rock Bottom Remainders, and about a dozen I can’t even remember.) And finally, as always, deepest thanks to Janine, my girl in the tree, who listened to every note of this novel through the less-than-Frankie voice of its author, reading to her while she sat in a chair, both of us rocking in the unique rhythm of storytelling Find out more at FrankiePresto.com About the Author MITCH ALBOM is a bestselling author, screenwriter, playwright, and nationally syndicated columnist He has written six consecutive number one New York Times bestsellers—including Tuesdays with Morrie, the bestselling memoir of all time—and his books have collectively sold more than thirty-five million copies in forty-two languages He has founded eight charities in Detroit and operates an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com ALSO BY MITCH ALBOM Tuesdays with Morrie The Five People You Meet in Heaven For One More Day Have a Little Faith The Time Keeper The First Phone Call from Heaven Credits Cover design by Milan Bozic Cover photograph © Eric Cahan, courtesy of Benrubi Gallery, NYC Copyright This book is a work of fiction References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real THE MAGIC STRINGS OF FRANKIE PRESTO Copyright © 2015 by ASOP, Inc All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books FIRST EDITION Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to quote from the following: “A House Is Not a Home” (from the film A House Is Not a Home), written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David © 1964 Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC All rights administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 424 Church Street, Nashville, TN 37219 All rights reserved Used by permission “Jonah,” words and music by Paul Simon Copyright © 1978, 1980 Paul Simon (BMI) All rights reserved Used by permission “Just Waitin’,” written by Hank Williams Sr and Bob Gazzaway © 1951 Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC All rights administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC 424 Church Street, Suite 1200, Nashville, TN 37219 All rights reserved Used by permission “Lost in the Stars,” words by Maxwell Anderson; music by Kurt Weill © 1946 (Renewed) Chappell & Co., Inc., and Tro–Hampshire House Publishing Corp All rights reserved Used by permission of Alfred Music “Lost in the Stars,” from the musical production Lost in the Stars, words by Maxwell Anderson; music by Kurt Weill TRO-© Copyright 1944 (Renewed) 1946 (Renewed) Hampshire House Publishing Corp., New York, NY, and Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Los Angeles, California International copyright secured Made in the USA All rights reserved, including public performance for profit Used by permission “Nature Boy,” by Eden Ahbez © 1948, 1976, 1995 by David J Janowiak DBA Golden World Music Used by permission “Parlez-Moi d’Amour,” by Jean Lenoir Copyright © 1930 by Societe d’Editions Music Internationales, copyright renewed All rights reserved Used by permission Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Albom, Mitch The magic strings of Frankie Presto / Mitch Albom — First edition pages ; cm ISBN: 978-0-06-229441-8 I Title PS3601.L335M34 2015 813’.6—dc23 2015016184 EPub Edition NOVEMBER 2015 ISBN: 9780062294425 15 16 17 18 19 OV/RRD 10 About the Publisher Australia HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty Ltd Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia www.harpercollins.com.au Canada HarperCollins Canada Bloor Street East - 20th Floor Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada www.harpercollins.ca New Zealand HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive Rosedale 0632 Auckland, New Zealand www.harpercollins.co.nz United Kingdom HarperCollins Publishers Ltd London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF, UK www.harpercollins.co.uk United States HarperCollins Publishers Inc 195 Broadway New York, NY 10007 www.harpercollins.com ... stared at the fingers moving deftly up and down the neck of the guitar He heard the sweet, warm tones of the strings, the way the high notes seemed to blow gently across the lower ones, the way... because I was born in the open air, in the breaks of ocean waves and the whistling of sandstorms, the hoots of owls and the cackles of tui birds I travel in echoes I ride the breeze I was forged... discovered by the raiders that night, and had managed to escape the burning church But traumatized by the horrific events, the woman moved to the farthest end of town and never spoke of what she