Frank Reckard

Francis Laing "Frank" Reckard (born July 1, 1952) is an American guitarist. He was part of Emmylou Harris's Hot Band from 1978 to 1989, and supported many other musical acts as a studio musician. After the Hot Band disbanded in the 1990s, he had a career as an attorney specializing in water law. He has been hailed as one of the "unsung greats"[3][4] who played a "crackling" lead guitar.[5]

For the footballer, see Frank Rijkaard.
Frank Reckard
Birth nameFrancis Laing Reckard[1][2]
Born (1952-07-01) July 1, 1952[2]
Fulton, Missouri, U.S.[2]
Occupation(s)Musician, lawyer
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active1974–1989 (as studio musician)
Associated actsEmmylou Harris

Biography

Early life

Reckard was born to Edgar and Susanna Reckard. He grew up in Claremont, California where his father served as a chaplain and a professor of the Claremont Colleges.[6][7] He began playing guitar professionally during high school; Reckard got his early nickname "Fast Farm" from his fast-picking style and the name of this band.[8] He graduated from Claremont High School in 1970,[9] and attended college at UC Santa Cruz, but left to pursue a music career.

Music career

Reckard settled in the Los Angeles area and began working as a sideman.[10] He was mentored by two other musicians from Claremont, John Ware and Chris Darrow, and played lead guitar for their group, The Darrow Mosely Band, on their three-track 10" demo EP titled Desert Rain in 1973.[11] At various times from 1972 to 1976 he toured with Hoyt Axton.[12] In 1978, he joined Emmylou Harris's Hot Band, replacing Albert Lee on guitars.[3] He also toured at various times with Rodney Crowell and the Cherry Bombs and Larry Hosford[13](Shelter Records). Along the way Reckard worked as a studio musician with a number of musical artists.[14] At least during the period of the Hot Band, Reckard played a Gibson Les Paul Special with a custom B-Bender.[15]

Law career

In 1990, after Harris disbanded the Hot Band, Reckard returned to college, graduating from UC Santa Barbara in 1992. He then attended the UCLA School of Law, graduating as a J.D. in 1995. Reckard moved back to New Mexico where he had lived in the early 1980s to work as a lawyer in private practice. He eventually became a Special Assistant Attorney General for the state of New Mexico, focusing in water law.[16] For more than ten years he was the lead attorney for the state in State of New Mexico ex rel. Office of the State Engineer vs. Elephant Butte Irrigation District, the largest ongoing water rights adjudication in the State of New Mexico. Tensions over these complex water issues led to a U.S. Supreme Court case where the State of Texas sued Colorado and New Mexico over their interstate water compact.[17]

Reckard retired from this position in 2015 but continues to be involved part-time. He also returned to playing guitar professionally, last playing lead guitar for Tracy Parker in March 2018.[18]

Personal life

Reckard lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife, Joan Berde.[19]

Discography

Reckard was a guitarist on multiple albums and tracks.[14]

Albums with Emmylou Harris

Other recordings

Reckard has also recorded with Buck Owens,[20] Tom Adler, Tonya Rae, Silver Shoes, and Don Michael Simpson.[3]

Further reading
  • Forte, Dan (August 1984). "Frank Reckard". Guitar Player: 22-31.
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References
  1. May 1992 Historia, Volume 5, Issue 6
  2. Feltner, Conrad W. (1974). The Trumbo Family.
  3. Fanelli, Damian (December 16, 2016). "Unsung Greats: The Mastery of Frank Reckard". Guitar Player.
  4. North, Gary (December 23, 2017). "Studio Musicians - Frank Reckard". Gary North's Specific Answers.
  5. Holden, Stephen (August 20, 1988). "Review/Pop; Emmylou Harris Journeys Down Memory Lane". New York Times. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  6. "Edgar C. Reckard, Jr". Los Angeles Times. 1995-07-25. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  7. "Susanna McWhorter Reckard". Los Angeles Times. April 15, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2018 – via Legacy.com.
  8. Dunne, Lee (2016-02-22). "Claremont High School Alumni, In Memory of Randy Levinson - Class Of 1970". CHS Alumni Society. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  9. "Claremont High School Alumni, 1970 Class". CHS Alumni Society. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  10. "Frank Reckard". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  11. "The Darrow Mosely Band". Fusetron. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  12. Guerin, John (2010-01-27). "Discography". The Musicians' Olympus. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  13. "Salinas singer Larry Hosford dies". thecalifornian.com. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  14. "AllMusic - Frank Reckard". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  15. "Emmylou/Frank Reckard/Gibson P90/Country Twang..." Telecaster Discussion Page Reissue. December 23, 2017. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  16. Romo, Rene (2011-08-25). "Judge OKs Water Rights Settlement". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  17. "Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado, No. 141 Original (Rio Grande Compact Litigation)" (PDF). U. S. Supreme Court. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  18. "Tracy Parker & Friends". Kuumbwa Jazz Center. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  19. "Obituary for Sydney Berde". startribune.com. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  20. Sisk, Eileen (2010). Buck Owens: The Biography. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1569767450.
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