Frankie and the Defenders are the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Sammie Award winners (Sacramento Music Awards) for best rockabilly band. Frankie and the Defenders bring high energy, excitement and style to the stage (and studio) with originality and passion. Led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Frankie De Fury, they rock, boogie and swing with powerful songs, showmanship and classic tones.
Frankie grew up in New Jersey where he studied music with an instructor from Juilliard Music Academy. He moved to the Chicago area after high school and although underage, played full-time in a working band. He moved to the Bay Area when he was 20, studied guitar, wrote songs and after a few years formed his own band, Frankie Flame and Ruthless Fun. He won the KSJO Best of the Bay contest and for the next seven years performed hundreds of shows per year. He was on rotation on KSJO and KOME radio, opened for Rick Derringer, won several Battle of the Bands, and was a finalist in another Best of the Bay contest. Frankie eventually moved to Sacramento and put together Frankie and the Defenders.
