Franklin Delano Wakefield, known as Frank Wakefield, was an American mandolin player in the bluegrass music style. Born on June 26, 1934, in Emory Gap, Tennessee, he grew up in a musical family and played harmonica, guitar, and bass by age eight. In 1950, his family moved to Dayton, Ohio, where at 16, he switched to the mandolin and formed The Wakefield Brothers with his brother Ralph. Their first radio appearance was in 1951 on WHIO in Dayton. Wakefield's career progressed when he began collaborating with Red Allen in 1952. In the 1970s, he launched a solo career, releasing his self-titled debut album, Frank Wakefield, in 1972 and touring with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. He also released other notable solo albums, including End Of The Rainbow (1980) and Don't Lie To Me (2003). Wakefield earned a Grammy nomination for best bluegrass album of the year in 1999 for Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza. He recorded and toured nationally until his death on April 26, 2024, at the age of 89.
