Frances L. Wallace papers

Frances L. Wallace:

A Guide to Her Papers at Georgia State University Library

Georgia State University
Georgia State University
Special Collections and Archives
100 Decatur St., SE
Atlanta, GA 30303-3202
404-413-2880
Fax: 404-413-2881
archives@gsu.edu

July 2004

Organization of the Papers

Scope and Content of the Papers

The collection documents Frances Wallace's many musical activities during her long career as a pianist and organist in Atlanta, and it provides a glimpse of Atlanta's musical scene during the middle years of the twentieth century.

The Wallace papers are organized into four series: (I) Personal records; (II) Scripts and performance notes; (III) Music; and (IV) Audio-visual materials. Series I contains appointment books, correspondence, contracts, news clippings, publicity materials and programs, as well as a few artifacts documenting Wallace's personal and professional life. Series II consists of several annotated radio scripts and scripts and performance notes from various shows. Of note are the radio scripts from WSB and WCON radio, most of which date from the late 1940s. Series III contains several kinds of music, including a significant portion of the music library of WSB (mainly printed dance arrangements and manuscript band and orchestra arrangements of popular songs), printed music for silent films, manuscript scores of band arrangements by Frank Power, a group of manuscript modulations, manuscript lead sheets of popular songs, and printed dance arrangements (non-WSB). Photographs of Frances Wallace and a group of photographs of the Southern Gentlemen Orchestra are included in Series IV.

Biography of Frances L. Wallace

Frances Lee Wallace (1921-2001) grew up in the Atlanta area of Lakeland Heights. A piano student since childhood, she began playing professionally in about 1940, when she was hired to play in the basement of Davison's department store in downtown Atlanta. Soon afterwards she began performing frequently on piano and organ on WSB, WAGA and WCON radio, as well as at the Roxy theater, Rich's and Davison's department stores, nightclubs, synagogues and churches. She made notable appearances with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra during the late 1940s and 1950s; she began a long relationship with Ahavath Achim synagogue in the mid 1940s, a relationship she continued for more than 40 years; she provided the accompaniment for silent film showings in Atlanta; and she formed and directed her own musical groups, which played at a variety of venues such as weddings, nightclubs, and fashion shows from the 1940s to 1980s. Ill health forced her to abandon her long musical career in the early 1990s, but she continued to perform occasionally at private parties until about 1992.

During her musical career Wallace became good friends with Frank Power, one of the staff arrangers and brass players for the Atlanta Pops Orchestra. She performed frequently with several notable Atlanta musicians, especially Albert Coleman, and she played for many well-known Atlantans, including Ivan Allen.

Wallace was married briefly (ca. 1940-ca. 1942) to Walter Stokes, a singer with whom she performed frequently during this period.

Index terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Georgia State University Library online catalog (GIL). Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Unrestricted access.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

To quote in print, or otherwise reproduce in whole or in part in any publication, including on the Worldwide Web, any material from this collection, the researcher must obtain permission from (1) the owner of the physical property and (2) the holder of the copyright. Persons wishing to quote from this collection should consult the reference archivist to determine copyright holders for information in this collection. Reproduction of any item must contain the complete citation to the original. All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

Administrative Information

Citation

[item], [folder title], [series title], Frances L. Wallace papers, M182, Popular Music Collection. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta.

Aquisition Information

Gift of E. Jo Baker-Henry, April 13, 2002.

Processing Information

Processed by Christine de Catanzaro, July 2004.

Related Material

Related materials in other repositories: Other archives holding related materials include the Atlanta History Center (Atlanta GA), which has photographs relating to the Howard Theatre and Albert Coleman. For records relating to Ahavath Achim synagogue, see the Ahavath Achim Congregation Records, 1887-1988 (Mss. 21) at the Cuba Archives, William Breman Jewish Heritage Center Museum, Atlanta GA. An oral history interview with Albert Coleman is available at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame's Zell Miller Center for Georgia Music Studies in Macon, Georgia.

Related materials in this repository: In the Special Collections Department at Georgia State University Library, the WSB scripts in Series II and the WSB music in Series III of this collection complement the WSB Radio Collection (M004 and M006) in the Popular Music Collection.

Separated Material

Separated material: One piece of printed sheet music, titled Follow Your Heart by J. Arthur Kelly, has been separated from the collection and added to the Sheet Music Collection in Popular Music. One rare book, Exercises on the Globes and Maps . . . Designed for the Use of Young Ladies (1824) by William Butler (1748-1822), has been transferred to the Rare Book Collection.