Driggs, Frank
Person
Dates
- Existence: January 29, 1930 – September 20, 2011
Biography
A child of the Great Depression, author and music historian Frank Driggs first became enamored with jazz and swing while listening to late night broadcasts from hotels and ballrooms. After graduating from Princeton in 1952, Driggs moved to Manhattan where he joined with Marshall Stearns and other jazz scholars in documenting the history of jazz. Realizing the importance of preserving the eyewitness accounts of those who pioneered the jazz tradition, Driggs began recording oral histories of early jazz musicians. The musicians interviewed often gave or lent Driggs scrapbooks, photos and memorabilia, which he lovingly archived. Driggs was found dead of natural causes in his Manhattan home on September 20, 2011. He was 81.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Frank Driggs Jazz Oral History Collection
Collection
Identifier: MS-0109
Scope and Contents
The audio materials in the collection are browsable here: Cataloged Sound Recordings from the Frank Driggs Jazz Oral History CollectionThe collection contains 300+ oral histories, conducted from 1956 to 1986, that capture the development of jazz as related by a host of musicians and...
Dates:
1956 - 1986
