Frank Driggs, a Grammy-winning record producer, noted archivist and historian, was found dead of natural causes at his Manhattan home on Tuesday, Sept. 20, the APreports. He was 81.
As an archivist, Driggs amassed a collection of jazz photos and memorabilia over his lifetime that is estimated at a whopping 100,000 pieces.
Driggs also became famous in the music world for producing the 1961 Columbia album 'Robert Johnsohn: King of the Delta Blues Singers,' the first LP dedicated entirely to the infamous blues singer-guitarist who supposedly sold his soul to the devil. He was awarded a Grammy in 1991 for this landmark collection.
For a period of time spanning between the '50s and '70s, Driggs helmed reissue projects for several jazz and blues greats including collections by Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Leadbelly, Art Tatum, Earl Hines, Glenn Miller, Bukka White, Fletcher Henderson, and many others.
Speaking about his photo archive to the New York Times in 2005, Driggs said, "I was interested in the history of jazz and I began buying photographs to fill in the gaps in my knowledge and gaps in the current accounts of the day."
As for why he'd have so many pictures, especially many that would never be published because of the obscure artists involved, Driggs said frankly, "I don't care; I like them. Most photo agencies have five or 10 pictures of Louis [Armstrong]. "I have a thousand. Why? Because I want them."
http://www.spinner.com/2011/09/23/frank-driggs-jazz-producer-dies/
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