West Michigan Artists:
Grand Rapids
Frank Salamone
web site: www.FrankSalamone.com
Frank Salamone is a singer/songwriter/guitarist living in West Michigan, inactive since 1987 due to physical
disability. He is a fingerstyle and vocal legend among those who heard him perform live in the '70s and '80s in and
around West Michigan.
He has shared the stage in West Michigan with Leo Kottke, Bukka White and John Mayall. Besides performing for years as a solo artist, he was also one-half of the famed duo "Suitcase", with Jim Steigmeyer (Jimmie Stagger).
He was co-owner of Flaming Rat Records, a Grand Rapids record store. Unique in West Michigan, the Rat focused on music you had no chance of finding anywhere else this side of the hippest college town or big city (Grand Rapids being neither). This was the kind of store where, once they got to know you, the new Bert Jansch record would automatically be there waiting for you behind the counter when you walked in.
In 1987, Frank was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome, a nerve disorder which robbed him of the use of his left arm, effectively ending any possibility of playing guitar. A few years later, other symptoms appeared which eventually led to a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis; the disease has now progressed to the point where he is a virtual prisoner in his own home. (There appears to be no connection between RSDS and MS.)
Frank's recordings have been re-released on Sitting Duck Productions with the hope that they will help mitigate his medical expenses.
Jim Leitch, a friend of Frank's, has set up a website about Frank and his music Check it out.
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