Bios

Frankie Sullivan Quimby

Born and reared in one of the isolated island communities off the Georgia coast, Frankie's family took the name Sullivan after the emancipation of black people, and is one of the few families able to trace its ancestry to a specific spot in Africa. They were members of the Foulah Tribe from the town of Kianah in the District of Temorah which is in the Kingdom of Massina on the Niger River. Frankie is the oldest of 13 children, and a large number of her relatives were slaves on the Hopeton and Altama Plantations. Many of them still reside in the Brunswick and St. Simons Island area.

Tony Merrell

In accordance with their mission to not only preserve their portion of America's history, but to see it carried on through the generations, the Georgia Sea Island Singers are pleased to announce they have been joined by a member of the third generation, Tony Merrell.

Born in 1961, Tony is a life-long resident of Brunswick, Georgia. Under the tutelage of Frankie and Doug Quimby, he has performed with them through the years, becoming a regular touring member in 2001.

Tony is a master of the jimbay drum and the talking drum; and has performed at the Outer Banks Forum and the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music in North Carolina, the McCelvey Center and The Citadel in South Carolina, Oklahoma Baptist University and Baylor University in Texas, Baldwin Wallace College in Ohio, and the International Folk Alliance in Florida. He has toured the states of Maryland, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Massachusetts and New York.