Born in Oberlin, Louisiana in 1947 and raised in rural Soileau, Preston Frank and his group the Frank Family Band honed their chops playing a rare commodity these days: real Creole music. His song "Born in the Country," a tribute to the Creole life, has become a zydeco standard. The family band was formed in 1977, recording for the Arhoolie and Lanor labels.
Over the years the band grew to include his children Keith on guitar — a well-known artist in his own right — plus Brad on drums and Jennifer on bass. Frank is a fourth-generation zydeco musician of Louisiana Creole ancestry, and brings a direct link to the almost-lost world of early Creole music, where Creole and Cajun stylings danced closely together.
After a 20-year recording drought, the band went to the legendary Dockside Studios in late 2023 and in one day cut the album Seventy-Five, chock full of chestnuts including "Why You Wanna Make Me Cry" and "Born in the Country." Frank has played the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Festival International, Blackpot Festival, and Festivals Acadiens et Créoles.
