William Frank Newton

Who was William Frank Newton?

Frankie Newton was a jazz trumpeter from Emory, Virginia. He played in several New York bands in the 1920s and 1930s, including those led by Sam Wooding, Chick Webb, Charlie Barnet, Andy Kirk and Charlie "Fess" Johnson. In the 1940s he played with bands led by Lucky Millinder and Pete Brown. He played in clubs in New York and Boston, with musicians such as pianist Art Tatum, pianist James P. Johnson, drummer Sid Catlett and clarinetist Edmond Hall.

He accompanied Bessie Smith on her final recordings, Maxine Sullivan on 'Loch Lomond', and Billie Holiday on her original 'Strange Fruit' session in 1939.

Between March 1937 and August 1939, eight recording sessions issued under Newton's name were produced. Three sessions in 1937 were made for Irving Mills's Variety label. In 1939, Newton recorded a six-song session with Victor, a four-song session for Vocalion, two individual one-song sessions for Blue Note, and finally one two-song session for Vocalion—14 records in all.