Francis Laing "Frank" Reckard (born July 1, 1952) is an American guitarist. He was part of

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

's Hot Band from 1978 to 1989, and supported many other musical acts as a

studio musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...

. After the Hot Band disbanded in the 1990s, he had a career as an attorney specializing in

water law Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms ( ...

. He has been hailed as one of the "unsung greats" who played a "crackling" lead guitar.

Biography

Early life

Reckard was born to Edgar and Susanna Reckard. He grew up in

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of Los Angeles. It lies in the Pomona Valley at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had ...

where his father served as a chaplain and a professor of the

Claremont Colleges The Claremont Colleges (known colloquially as the 7Cs) are a consortium of seven private university, private institutions of higher education located in Claremont, California, United States. They comprise five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs)� ...

. He began playing guitar professionally during high school; Reckard got his early nickname "Fast Farm" from his fast-picking style and the name of this band. He graduated from Claremont High School in 1970, and attended college at

UC Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located in Monterey Bay ...

, but left to pursue a music career.

Music career

Reckard settled in the Los Angeles area and began working as a

sideman A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo o ...

. He was mentored by two other musicians from Claremont, John Ware and

Chris Darrow Christopher Lloyd Darrow (July 30, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was an American multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. He was considered to be a pioneer of country rock music in the late-1960s and performed and recorded with numerous groups, ...

, and played lead guitar for their group, The Darrow Mosely Band, on their three-track 10" demo EP titled ''Desert Rain'' in 1973. At various times from 1972 to 1976 he toured with

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

. In 1978, he joined

's Hot Band, replacing Albert Lee on guitars. He also toured at various times with

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

and the Cherry Bombs and Larry Hosford(Shelter Records). Along the way Reckard worked as a studio musician with a number of musical artists. At least during the period of the Hot Band, Reckard played a

Gibson Les Paul Junior The Gibson Les Paul Junior is a solid-body electric guitar introduced in 1954 as an affordable, entry-level Les Paul. It was first released with a single-cutaway body style; models with a double-cutaway body style were introduced in 1958. The Jun ...

with a custom

B-Bender A B-Bender is a guitar accessory that enables a player to fluidly alter the pitch of a guitar's B-string. This works by mechanically bending the B-string through the use of a series of levers and/or pulleys attached to an external lever that is ...

Law career

In 1990, after Harris disbanded the Hot Band, Reckard returned to college, graduating from

UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joined ...

in 1992. He then attended the

UCLA School of Law The University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (commonly known as UCLA School of Law or UCLA Law) is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. History Founded in 1949, the UCLA School of Law is the third oldest of t ...

, graduating as a J.D. in 1995. Reckard moved back to New Mexico where he had lived in the early 1980s to work as a lawyer in private practice. He eventually became a Special Assistant Attorney General for the state of New Mexico, focusing in water law. For more than ten years he was the lead attorney for the state in ''State of New Mexico ex rel. Office of the State Engineer vs. Elephant Butte Irrigation District'', the largest ongoing water rights adjudication in the State of New Mexico. Tensions over these complex water issues led to a

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

case where the State of Texas sued Colorado and New Mexico over their interstate water compact. Reckard retired from this position in 2015 but continues to be involved part-time. He also returned to playing guitar professionally, last playing lead guitar for Tracy Parker in March 2018.

Personal life

Reckard lives in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

, with his wife, Joan Berde.

Discography

Reckard was a guitarist on multiple albums and tracks.

Albums with
Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

* ''

Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town ''Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town'' is the fifth studio album by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released in 1978. The album reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' charts, with three charting singles: "To Daddy" (written by Dolly Part ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1978) * '' Blue Kentucky Girl'' (Warner Bros., 1979) * '' Light of the Stable'' (Warner Bros., 1979) * ''

Roses in the Snow ''Roses in the Snow'' is the seventh studio album by country music artist Emmylou Harris, released in 1980. While Harris' previous release, 1979's '' Blue Kentucky Girl'', featured traditional, straight-ahead country (as opposed to the country- ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1980) * ''

Evangeline ''Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie'' is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in English and published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel during the e ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1981) * '' Cimarron'' (Warner Bros., 1981) * '' Last Date'' (Warner Bros., 1982) * '' White Shoes'' (Warner Bros., 1983) * ''

Thirteen Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number) * Any of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, or 2013 Music Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ''13'' (Blur album), 1999 * ''13'' (Borgeous album), 2016 * ''13'' (Brian Setzer album), 2006 * ...

'' (Warner Bros. 1986)

Other recordings

* ''Under My Own Disguise'' by

(United Artists, 1974) * '' Southbound'' by

(A&M, 1975) * ''Lorenzo'' by Larry Hosford (Shelter, 1975) * ''Fearless'' by Hoyt Axton (A&M, 1976) * ''Cross Words'' by Larry Hosford (Shelter, 1976) * ''Reckless Love and Bold Adventure'' by

Rose Maddox Roselea Arbana "Rose" MaddoxMany sources give her birth name as Brogdon. This is an error. She was recorded, with her birth family, as Rose Maddox in the 1940 US Census, and other sources report her second husband's name as Brogdon. (August 1 ...

(Takoma, 1977) * '' Ear Candy'' by

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on ra ...

(Capitol, 1977) as Francis Reckard * '' Right or Wrong'' by

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash. Although Cash is often classified as a country artist, her music draws f ...

(Columbia, 1979) * '' But What Will the Neighbors Think'' by

(Warner Bros., 1980) * '' Seven Year Ache'' by Rosanne Cash (Columbia, 1981) * '' The South Coast of Texas'' by

Guy Clark Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff ...

(Warner Bros., 1981) * ''

Craftsman Craftsman may refer to: A profession *Artisan, a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative *Master craftsman, an artisan who has achieved such a standard that he may establish his own workshop and take o ...

'' by Guy Clark (Rounder/Philo, 1985) Reckard has also recorded with

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was the frontman for The Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on the ''Billboard'' country music chart. He pioneered what came ...

, Tom Adler, Tonya Rae, Silver Shoes, and Don Michael Simpson.

References

External links

* *
Sample Frank Reckard online recordings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reckard, Frank 1952 births Living people New Mexico lawyers People from Fulton, Missouri University of California, Santa Cruz alumni University of California, Santa Barbara alumni UCLA School of Law alumni American country guitarists American male guitarists American folk guitarists American session musicians People from Claremont, California Claremont High School (California) alumni