Frank Bey, born Frank Bass on January 17, 1946 and died June 7, 2020. He was an American blues musician. At 27 years old, he changed his name to Bey when he joined The Moorish Science Temple. Frank Jordan was born in Millen, Georgia and was the seventh child of 12 children to Maggie Jordan, a gospel singer. At the age of 4, he began singing gospel music. He was accompanied by his brother and two cousins in “The Rising Sons”, a group that toured the South, making both live performances as well as radio broadcasts. He was with them until he was 12 or 13. The group disbanded at that point. His mother also encouraged him to sing at local concerts. He had the chance to open shows for such luminaries as the Five Blind Boys of Alabama and the Soul Stirrers. Frank moved from his home in Alabama when he was 17, and settled in Philadelphia where he worked as a driver for Gene Lawson (Otis Redding’s advance publicist man). Redding rode sometimes in the backseat on trips between engagements. Bey claims that he was allowed to open the shows on three occasions when the opening act failed to show up. In the 1970s, he was a member of the Moorish Vanguard. He then moved to Aiken in South Carolina. Bey released The Sunset of Your Love in 1976 on the Country Eastern Music label. James Brown published the song without permission on Polydor Records. Bey was initially accused of giving the song permission to Brown, but Brown eventually settled the matter and admitted that he had taken the song. Bey then left the music industry for many years and started his own construction and restaurant businesses. Bey began singing again in Philadelphia by 1996. Bey’s 1998 debut album, “Steppin’ Out”, was released by MAG Records. His health problems prevented him from performing in support of the album. He released Blues in the Pocket in 2007, on Jeffhouse Records. Blues DJ Noel Hayes brought Bey to the Bay Area, California in order to perform with Anthony Paule and other local musicians. Between 2013 and 2015, the two released three albums: You Don’t know Nothing (Live), Soul for Your Blues and Not Going Away. Bey signed with Nola Blue Records in July 2018. In September, he released Back In Business, his first CD, on the Nola Blue Label. The next CD, All My Dues are Paid, was released in September. After a long battle with cancer, Bey passed away on June 7, 2020. From Wikipedia
