Frank Jones
Frank Jones started playing drums at age 13 and never stopped. It’s been more than 50 years since he saved up $75 working at the car wash to buy his first drum set from a pawn shop in New York City—a Gretsch that actor Mickey Rooney played on.
He’s performed in combos, trios, quartets and church groups, but last fall, he found himself sitting in a college classroom surrounded by musicians all in their early twenties.
After his wife passed away, he chose to fill the time they spent together with music and learning.
“I love playing music, so I wanted to continue my education now and enroll at Stockton,” he said.
Jones, a rising sophomore majoring in Performing Arts, took advantage of a tuition waiver for New Jersey senior citizens.
He’s been improvising his own style, handcrafting drum sticks in his machine shop on a wood lathe and playing from his heart.
“At Stockton, my mindset is different. I’m learning in depth,” he explained.
Although he’s been practicing for years, he’s enjoying his time in class. The students are keeping him current, and in return, he’s made them custom wooden drumsticks.
“The wood grain lasts forever. I’ve been playing with the same set for 20 years,” he said.
He enrolled in Color Form and Print, a class he wouldn’t have sought out, but it was available. He’s glad he took the class because he painted a portrait of his late wife.
Studying music has been a longtime dream for Jones.
He got a scholarship in high school to attend the Union County Band and Orchestra School in the summer of 1962.
“When I was younger, I came from a big family, and my father couldn’t afford to send me to Florida A&M where I wanted to go, so I joined the military and was pre-assigned to the Army Band in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. I was 17 years old when my mother signed for me to go into the military, and my sister took me to audition for the band,” he said.
Jones was in the Army Guard where he guarded the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
After his military service, he used his G.I. Bill to attend Union County Vocational-Technical School, which prepared him to start his own business, Jones Automotive, in Plainsfield, which he owned and operated with his wife from 1969-1980. They later moved to South Jersey and opened a shop in Hammonton.
Jones loves performing, and summer is his busy season.
From Memorial Day to Labor Day, Jones plays on Friday nights, 7-10 p.m. at the Margate Dairy Bar. He also plays Thursday nights in Hammonton at Annata Wine Bar and on occasional Saturdays at No. 79 Restaurant in Mullica Township.
Story by Susan Allen
