Frankie's Funeral Service Options

[Larry Peacock]

Photo of Frankie's Funeral Service on Saturday, May 2, 2009.


The great band leader, George Gee of New York, attended Frankie Manning's funeral service on Saturday, May 2, 2009. During the day, George Gee updated his Facebook profile frequently with play-by-play of the day's activities...and I just happened to be home keeping up with it. Interesting to note those in attendance. I took the time to relay the entire message to you all here...

Frankie Manning's Funeral Service
Saturday, May 2, 2009
12:45 PM - New York

George Gee is at Frankie's services now. Can feel the worldwide adoration....
George Gee is listening to Mickey Davidson talk about their trip to Africa. Its a great story....
George Gee - Erin Stevens and Steven Mitchell are speaking now.
George Gee - Rhythm Hot Shots from Sweden with very emotional tribute remarks
George Gee - Harlem Renaissance Orchestra is play Shiny Stockings. I'm getting ready to speak. I'm suddenly very nervous. Wish me luck!
George Gee thinks he made a good tribute and should be proud.!!
George Gee is enchanting the crowd while Chazz Young is introducing Norma Miller. audience is on its feet.
George Gee is laughing as Norma whips the crowd into a frenzy!
George Gee - Savion Glover takes the stage and call Frankie one of the cats!
George Gee - The Rev. Calvin Butts say he want to learn the lindyhop! Now he proceeds with closing remarks and eulogy.
George Gee - The Jitterbug Kids are dancing to Jumping at the Woodside in front of Frankie's casket. Frankie would be happy. crowd goes wild!
George Gee - Moment of silence.
George Gee - band goes into Satin Doll . everybody files out. THE SUN IS SHINING!!!!!!!
George Gee is riding in a car with Dawn Hampton, Sylvia Sykes and John Dokes to Woodlawn Cementary. The bright sun is shining on Frankie today!
George Gee - we're lining up the cars for the processional in the cementary. this place is HUGE!
George Gee - the processional of cars is moving towards Frankies plot..
George Gee - folded flag is being handed to chazz.
George Gee - everyone is filing past Frankie's casket now and laying flowers down. very emotional.
George Gee - impromptu chorus of Amazing Grace. Frankie is being laid to rest. God Bless you Frankie RIP. WE WILL MISS YOU.
George Gee - his plot is very close to Illinois Jacquet and miles Davis. we're off to the repast to SWING in honor of Frankie! Thank you everybody. I'm signing off, gotta go lead the band!
George Gee is ready for a good night's rest, after a long and exhaustive day of helping Frankie on his send-off to eternal life. Frankie is a legend, he will live on in our heart forever......

The following photo can be seen in the above photo next to Frankie's casket. And I believe that is Chazz Young, Frankie's son, dancing in front of the casket with his back to the camera.

[ErikLane]

This is the talk that George Gee gave:

I was honored to speak at Frankie Manning's funeral service.

My remembrance at Frankie's grand funeral service from yesterday:

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to take this opportunity to humbly and respectfully thank the family and friends of Frankie Manning for asking me to say a few works on this very special day. Of course, please join me in acknowledging fellow bandleader Ron Allen and all the fabulous musicians of The Harlem Renaissance Orchestra. As Frankie would always says: "Without swingin' music there would be no swingin' dancin'!"

This what I think that Frankie and I have in common. The thing that strikes me the strongest is how Frankie and I are so lucky to have had this music and dance happen in OUR lifetimes. This whole generation of resurgence of folks diggin' big band music and lindyhop that spreaded across the country and the globe. And, of course, for Frankie - it was even more more formidable as not only did he spearhead "Revival," but he was there at the very very beginning - at the flashpoint - during it's incubation period.

Not only is it a great honor for me to have known Frankie, but also the fact that he considered me and my family part of his family. Little beknownst to me the gentleman that I first met at The Cat Club in 1987 during one of my first gigs for The New York Swing Dance Society would be the beginning of a long and enduring relationship. I remember so clearly how he took charge of the dance floor and jumped right into the Shim Sham that night.

And then little beknownst to me that 22 years later, he would grace my birthday party at SWING46 just a few short weeks ago and I am so proud to say that one of the last dances he enjoyed was with my band that night. And with all the GREAT bands and dancin' he did in his long and illustrious career, that will be a badge of honor that I will proudly wear forever. A fond memory frozen in time and in my mind. I always said to Frankie: "I've been to so many of your birthday celebrations, now you got to come to mine!"

Going back to having been included as part of Frankie's grand family, I really truly believe that my own personal happy family would not have come about without the involvement of Frankie. In 2000, I was asked to travel to Tokyo, Japan to emcee at Frankie's 86th birthday party. I took the opportunity to spend some with my then-future wife, Mutsumi, whom I have met just briefly the year before while on tour in Japan.

I remember that right after I first introduced Mutsumi to Frankie, he looked at me with that familiar devilish grin and said "Now, George, I know you didn't travel halfway around the world just to see little old me , did ya?!?" And then that hearty familiar Frankie laugh....

I remember how he met my son, Glenn, for the first time when we both got off the boat together at the dock at Catalina island. I was so proud when I took a picture of Frankie holding my little boy in his arms. I was looking at that particular photo this morning and it bought both a smile to my face and a tear to my eye.

How about the time that we were playing at his Caribbean Cruise in 2002 and I had the dubious distinction of waiting in line with Frankie on.....the buffet line! I was halfway expecting the mighty and health-conscious Frankie Manning would be heaping on the plateful of salad and perhaps steamed vegetables - so he'll be able to trip the light fantastic on the shipdeck that night. Imagine to my chagrin and surprise, when I saw him leave with a gigantic mound of mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, fried chicken, pork chops (and not one little green pea in sight!). And, oh yeah, that familiar ear-to-ear grin and that ever-present sparkle in his eye. Frankie LOVED his food, amongst many other things.

30 years, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Count Basie and lucky and blessed to have developed a personal relation ship with this great man. Everytime I jump on stage, I have felt Mr. Basie's strong will and guidance keeping me on the straight and narrow path as a bandleader - to continue the great American art form of the Big Band. He keeps me honest.

This past week has been hard for all of us. I felt disillusioned and somewhat lost - like a sailboat without a sail. I usually like to be in control. The day after Frankie passed, I was so looking forward to doing my regular Tuesday show at SWING46. When the band kicked into Taint Whatcha Do" and everybody on the dance floor obediently stepped into Shim Sham formation - I could've sworn that I saw, in the corner of my eye, "Musclehead" himself sitting in his usual round booth, just like he was a few short weeks ago. Afterwards, when the piano struck the familiar opening chords of "Shiny Stockings" and everybody gasped in familiarity, 8-counts abounded (or in my case, 6-counts!)

Then at that exact moment and only at that exact moment did it all come rushing into perspective for me! How it all started to make sense - however selfishly it did for me.

Now, not only did I have the spirit and guidance of one of history's greatest and swingin'est big bandleaders of all time with me on stage every time, but also the strong and bright and warm glow of, no doubt, THE WORLD's GREATEST LINDYHOPPER with me on stage every time from now on. I think I am in good hands!

What Frankie and Basie taught me was not necessarily about their respective intertwine arts - but about being, about the true mechanism that makes this world go round and round. The simple notion that you treat people the way that you want to be treated. If you want to be treated crappy, then treat other folks crappy. The opposite holds true.

THANK YOU FRANKIE! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.

Thank you for granting this time to me to express my feelings and thoughts about my friend and mentor - Frankie Manning. I'd like to conclude my words with a posting on Facebook by my friend drummer Eddie Galloway from Los Angeles, just a few short hours after Frankie passed:

CHICK WEBB, STRIKE UP THE BAND. THE MAN HIMSELF IS BACK AT THE SAVOY WITH YOU, ONLY NOW, THERE WILL BE NO BAND BREAKS!"

God bless you, Frankie.

HEAVENZAPOPPIN'!

[ErikLane]

And check out this article about the funeral, with multiple videos:

http://www.rikomatic.com/blog/2009/05/toda...ded-as-i-e.html

The video of Dawn Hampton and John Dokes is amazing! I've never even heard of him, but he's a lot of fun to watch, especially when he was channeling Frankie!