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Surprisingly Good Story of a Great Musician



Albom is a Musician

Mitch Albom is and was a musician as well as a writer.

It shows in this wonderful novel, the story of a legendary fictitious guitarist, Frankie Presto.
Albom's prodigious knowledge of music informs the entire book, which is a love affair with music.

Begin at the End

The story starts at the end, at Frankie Presto's funeral in Villareal, Spain, the town in which Frankie was born in 1936. Frankie's funeral takes place in some unspecified year close to the present time.

Narrated by Music

The narrator of the entire story is the mysterious figure of Music. Music tells us that Frankie was one of Music's favorite and most talented children.

Frankie's History

Frankie (short for Francisco de Asisi Pascual Presto) starts life in the Spanish Civil War and is almost immediately orphaned.

He is adopted by a kind local man, Bapho Rubio. (Frankie thinks Bapho is his real father, and even uses Rubio's last name ). Frankie's pet is a hairless dog that follows him everywhere.

Frankie's eyes are damaged, so Bapho wonders how his adopted son will earn a living. He decides that Frankie, who sings along with records, might become a musician.

Bapho takes Frankie--aged five or six-- to a local music teacher, "El Maestro". The Maestro teaches Frankie to play guitar. He teaches him Spanish guitar, classical, jazz, etc.

Things go from bad to worse in Spain and Frankie ends up fleeing in a boat to America.

A handsome black haired youth, Frankie becomes a star--singing and dancing and only rarely playing guitar--and marries twice (once for love). He adopts a child.

The book traces the ups and downs of Frankie's life---his fame, his very brief movie career, his world travel and life in many different places, his subsequent decline into obscurity, his period of drug and alcohol abuse, his excellence as a music teacher, etc. Frankie meets and plays with many famous musicians, who recognize his brilliance.: Django Reinhardt, Duke Ellington, Tony Bennett, Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, etc. He shows up at Woodstock.

Through it all, Frankie remains (mostly) kind, humble, and dedicated to music. His prodigious talent never goes to his head.

Interviews with Real Musicians

Albom uses the unique device of inserting interviews with living musicians who "knew" Frankie. These include Darlene Love, Wynton Marsalis, Tony Bennett, Burt Bachrach, Ingrid Michaelson, Roger McGuinn, John Pizzarelli, etc.

Magic Strings

The title "The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto" refers to two things. First is a bootleg tape of Frankie playing in the studio, captured by a studio engineer. (By the way, there's a sound track of "Magic Strings" available. I haven't heard it).

The second is that his guitar strings, a gift from El Maestro, magically turn blue when Frankie changes the life of someone he encounters.

Specific, Yet Universal

Albom has a gift for creating the very specific details of a particular and unusual life and yet somehow, at the same time, making the story universal.

Musical Terms

The prose is infused with musical terms, used very appropriately. For example, Frankie begins his love affair in "allegro", a quick tempo.

Full Cast Audio

The audio was done by a full cast and was excellent. The cast includes: Mitch Albom, Roger McGuinn, Ingrid Michaelson, John Pizzarelli, Paul Stanley, George Guidall, Mike Hodge, Robin Miles, Christian Baskous, Tony Chiroldes, Kevin O'Neil, Adriana Sananes, Ken Brown, and Sarab Kamoo.