The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

In 1969, Frankie is on drugs and wandering around Woodstock after buying a carton of eggs. He doesn’t remember why he’s wandering around; the only thing he remembers is Aurora telling him to buy eggs for breakfast.

He is “now thirty-three years old, was tall and lanky, with deep blue eyes, high shoulders, large hands, and dark stubble on his chin and cheeks” (161). Music makes it known that he doesn’t like drugs, stating that despite how many artists have taken drugs to find him, “It does not bring you closer to me” (162). 

In 1946, Frankie is 10 years old and living on the streets of England. This was supposed to be a halfway point on his way to America, but he’s been stranded here ever since the men El Maestro paid to help Frankie abandoned him.

A man walks up to Frankie, and it’s Django Reinhardt, the gypsy guitar player who El Maestro loved. He asks Frankie if he’ll accompany him to America, where he’s going to tour with Duke Ellington. Frankie agrees, and the bottom string on his guitar turns blue.

Back in 1969, Frankie is still wandering around Woodstock. A group of people recognize him and say that he’s freaking out. Frankie falls to the ground, listening to the music. A beautiful woman with dark hair tells Frankie to come into her van.

Again in 1946, Frankie finally makes it to America and accompanies Django, helping as his translator. Frankie, Django, and Duke Ellington and his band take a train to Cleveland. Frankie hangs out with all the musicians and explores their instruments. He learns that they’re also going to Detroit, which is where Baffa’s sister lives. 

At Woodstock, Frankie and the beautiful, dark-haired woman start talking. She is being flirtatious, and he is too high on drugs to think straight. She asks how he got here, and he tells her the story of how he came to America with Django and Duke Ellington.

During the three-month tour with the Ellington Band, Frankie learns Django’s guitar style. Django had a baby that had died, and traveling with young Frankie gives him comfort. Duke Ellington’s band has a concert, but Django’s performance is the highlight. 

At Woodstock, the dark-haired woman is captivated by Frankie’s story about his youth in America. She gives Frankie a pill and takes one herself. 

Django and Duke Ellington stop in Detroit for a concert, so Frankie decides to visit Baffa’s sister. When he sees her, he screams out “Mama!” (194), remembering the photo from Baffa’s house. The woman and her husband are clearly annoyed, and they clear up the misunderstanding. It’s clear that the sister wants nothing to do with Frankie, since she and Baffa haven’t talked in years. 

Burt recalls how much Frankie loved the studio. Burt produced a song for Frankie and notes how similar they were—both were perfectionists in their craft. 

Unable to reconnect with Django, Frankie ends up in an orphanage. After three years, he has grown into a handsome young man that gets the attention of the girls, but he’s disliked by the other boys. He gets private library time to practice guitar, and the nuns let him go to their ceremonies because of his musical abilities.

Frankie and another boy get into a fight, and the other boy breaks one of Frankie’s guitar strings, “the same string that had once turned blue on the British docks” (204). That night, Frankie thinks about his past in Spain, and he misses the people he knew and loved. Suddenly, he hears a noise outside his window, and when he looks, he sees Baffa’s hairless dog.