Frank Ace biography

As a child, Frank Ace learned to play country/western under the unlikely tutoring of rodeo cowboys who came to his stepfather’s boots and saddle shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Frank Ace developed his love for the blues when he later lived with his grandparents. When Frank Ace attended Phoenix Union High School, he was making big bucks for a 17-year-old. Carver Barnes, a park director, took Frank under his wing and helped him to form his five-piece band, The Continental. During engagements, however, Frank Ace picked cotton and potatoes in the fields to earn money for sound equipment. The talented group caught the attention of Ray Agee, big-time blues singer and songwriter. After spending a year in Los Angeles with him, the group returned to Phoenix as professional savvy musicians known as the Frank Ace Combo. Frank always was the leader of the band. In 1964, Fank Ace cut his first records, Kirk and Lady Margaret under the Hydra label. Since then, Frank Ace has played in every state in the continental United States, and every club on the blues circuit. There were also dazzling USO shows on a Far East tour and memorable engagements at Mugen’s in Tokyo and the 9000 Penthouse in Hollywood. In 2004, Frank Ace released his CD, Cry u out of my heart. Influenced by Vernon Garrett, vocalist, Frank adds his own singing arrangement to melodic blues lyrics. Frank Ace thinks Carver Barnes had the biggest impact on his life. The Frank Ace sound is the blues — full-bodied, energized, synchronized and radiant — making it come alive on concert stages, and every club on the blues circuit.