Frank Stokes

Frank Stokes and partner Dan Sane recorded as the Beale Street Sheiks, Memphis' answer to the musical Chatmon family string band the Mississippi Sheiks. According to local tradition, Stokes was already playing the streets of Memphis by the turn of the century, about the same time the blues began to flourish. As a street artist, he needed a broad repertoire of songs and patter palatable to both Blacks and whites. A medicine show and house party favorite, Stokes was remembered as a consummate entertainer who drew on songs from the 19th and 20th centuries with equal facility. Sol...