Frankie On The 'Net

[Google Search]
A quick search for Frankie turns up over 6000 matches.

[Savoy Style]
The canonical bio page you've all read. Right? Perhaps most useful for the links to other bios of his contemporaries.

[Washington Post]
Frankie answers questions comparing the current swing scene with the '30s and '40s. Some very candid answers on the standard of dancing, the bands, various styles, aerials and jam sessions. This public interview from 1999 gives a sense of Frankie's personality from the horse's mouth. One of the questions was submitted from Melbourne - anyone care to own up?

[thirteen.org]
A long, uncut interview. Skip the intro and get to Frankie's description of that first aerial. Also of note: the original names for many of the steps were simple, "over-the-back" etc.

[Frankie & Ann]
The story of that famous 1940 photo of Frankie looking up at his partner (Ann Johnson) sailing above his head. She's just about touching the ceiling with one hand.

[Swingtime]
A description of Frankie's 85th birthday party, attended by 1200 people and the Count Basie orchestra. It's May 26th, by the way.

[Turning 86]
[The Photos]
Frankie celebrated his 86th in Tokyo, with a few zillion of his closest Japanese friends. The poster on the main page is pretty bizarre.

[azis.com]
[arts.endow.gov]
[Savoy Ballroom]
More bios, in which we learn Frankie's nickname was "Musclehead"; that he worked in the United States Postal Service for 30 years; and that he appeared on the cover of Life Magazine.

[Lindy Cafe]
A bunch of great photos from the '30s and '40s. Look for the shot of Ann Johnson kicking Frankie's butt. Really nice site design and graphics too.

[Jitterbuzz]
[Swing Craze]
A detailed description of the way Frankie dances, part of a thesis project on Lindy.

[Savoy Style]
"Really Swingin': Frankie Manning's Big Band Favorites" CD - The tracks chosen by Frankie.