I hadn't heard about his passing, what a great loss.


Some yrs back we had the Boston Traditional Singer's Club & we'd meet weekly tossing a dollar a head into the kitty to saved incase we'd be able to hook a great singer passing though. Frank Harte was one the most memorable of the singers that we ever hooked. We started off with a few songs from the club members then a stretch from Frank with a small break with more floor singers & a final stretch from Frank ending with a few more floor singers who hadn't had a chance earlier (after this was a singer's club not a concert). I wouldn't say Frank was the best of singers, probably more like a treasure for great singers. Having Frank was a bit like having an old memeber who'd been away for a long time come back & cross that with a porch pick or a kitchen party, with him cooking it all up.
What a wealth of info with an "I'm just another one of you who like traditional songs" with a casual, friendly attitude & a love for passing on what he knew. Later after I sang a song (Red Haired Man's Wife) he came over & he chatted about the song. Ending the chat he asked for my address & said he'd send me some info on the version I sang. 9 or10 months later I got an apology note from him for not writing sooner & he couldn't quite remember what info he was to send on that version of the song he was gonna send me. So he sent what ever he could muster on that version plus hand wrote out 3 more versions & the backgrounds to those too. I never asked him for any info on anything, just sang a song. That's a person who loves the music & loves to share it with other. It's no wonder his reputation spans continents. Sorry to see he's moved on. RIP


Barry