PAUL COTTON... Musical Archive |
| Frank played with Paul whilst the band was known firstly as the Gentrys, then the Rovin' Kind before quitting the band in 1967. Although not entirely clear, it appears that it would be early 1965 when Frank and Paul first started playing together along with Freddy Page. His hair started thinning at a young age and he wore a toupe on stage. In 1969/70 Frank moved to LA & played in a band called Mambo Spud with Freddy Page and Mike Anthony for a short period after the break up of ISP. After Freddy died he left Mambo Spud. He played professionally for a number of years before moving to Warner Brothers as a recording engineer for motion pictures. Frank died in 1999 in LA. He drove home from working at the studio and had a massive stroke in the driveway of his home. He left behind his wife , Karen and three children. Frank's kids seem to be following in his musical tradition. Brian, the oldest, plays guitar and is in a band; Anthony, the second eldest, plays drums and is in a band, and Gina, the youngest enjoys singing. May Frank's memory live on. Vern Johnson remembers: Frank Bortoli grew up down the street from me and lived with his folks upstairs of his father's music store/school on 115th Street and Indiana, across from the Kensington district police station. Frank was a couple of years older than I was but went to the same high school. Although we didn't hang around together in high school, it might have been me that brought him around to meet Paul. He had been playing around and was known to Kal (David) and Pete Cetera and the rest of us. In fact, during the time I was with Bobby (Simms) and Keith (Anderson), he was playing with a guy named Vince Zingaretti (?) and a drummer named Bill Allman. They were working a late license (played until 0330) at a club called the Arena, and all of us who only worked until 0130 used to drive over to their place to catch their last set and have coffee or something to eat. Frank used to come over to my house during the day during those months and we'd listen to tunes and he'd talk bass licks and we'd coordinate kicks and stuff. He was a great friend, one of the funniest guys I've ever known and I miss him dearly." A message fro Joe Clark of Lockport IL, 2008-01-13: The Rovin Kind, as the Gentrys, played at our St. Anthony 8th grade graduation dance at the Turner Hall on Indiana Avenue, just around the corner from Frank Bertoli's father's music studio, Bertoli Music School in the summer of 1965. I remember going after school to Bertoli's to watch a rehearsal. God bless the memory of Frank Bortoli, who I was lucky enough to get to know after that early introduction." |