He is known for running the Johnson City sessions from 1928 to 1929, which launched the careers of various artists including Charlie Bowman and Clarence Ashley.

Frank Walker was born on a farm in rural Fly Summit,[1] a hamlet in Cambridge, New York, on October 24, 1889.

He was the youngest of seven children born to Mary Ann Buckley (August 13, 1851 – April 25, 1922) and Solomon Walker (June 14, 1852 – November 6, 1895).

Frank and his brothers, Lester, George, Mack and Ed worked on the farm as children and helped with income for the family.

[3] A chance encounter with a man named Francis Whiten who had connections with the owners of the Columbia Phonograph Company.

His first priority on mind was to find a talented blues singer he heard back in 1917 at a gin mill in Selma, Alabama.

[4] With promoter Clarence Williams and Dan Hornsby’s help, he found the woman, Bessie Smith and brought her up to New York City to record the soon-to-be smash hit Down Hearted Blues.

Walker was responsible for discovering and recording Blind Willie Johnson, Joe Falcon and the Breaux Family.

There, he supervised recordings from legendary Big Band Musicians like Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins.

On October 15, 1963, nine days before turning 74, Walker died of a heart attack at his home, 4301 Westmoreland Avenue, in Little Neck, New York.