Frankie Lenn Marlar

A Celebration of Life Service for Frankie Marlar, 65, is set for 2:00 pm Thursday at Memorial Funeral Home with Bro. Warren Jones and his friends doing the eulogy. Burial will follow in the Magnolia Garden.

Family will receive friends Thursday from 12:00 to service time.

Frankie died December 28, 2023 at Magnolia Regional Health Center. He was a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church. He attended Alcorn Central High School & finished at Corinth High School. He was self-taught & learned to play piano and guitar at the age of 7; by the age of 13 he was playing in clubs with adult supervision. Playing music for a living for 52 years, allowed him to play many concerts, venues and festivals. He made friends very quickly with the many artists that he has opened for giving him opportunity to play on stage in several cities & states, especially Nashville, keeping him on the road doing what he loved. He has played with longtime friends, .38 Special, Marshall Tucker Band, Darryl Worley, Sandy Carroll, Janie Akin, Sun Records artists Sam Phillips & Sonny Burgess & The Legendary Pacers...just to name a few.

He had his own Frankie Marlar Band for many years, then went Duo with his very best friend Dennis Lumpkin and after Dennis passed in 2016, he decided it was time to go Solo, which had been a very successful music career playing gigs & private events in Pickwick earning him the name as the Pickwick Icon. He played in several bands like The Jubie Johns and many other bands with a host of local musicians. There is so much history about Frankie's music that it can't all be written in this obituary. He has played on many CD's with Janie Akin as well as Sandy Carroll's CD's produced by husband Jim Gaines. Jim also produced Frankie's debut album Gambled on Heaven which offers hard-driving southern rock featuring his classic high volume guitar crunch, grinding vocals and gritty keyboards. Fans loved him and came out to support him where ever he was playing a gig and he put on a show for them as the dedicated musician he was.

He was preceded in death by his parents James Ray Marlar and Elsa June Marlar, brother John Lejuan Marlar.

Survivors include his wife Brenda Hughes Marlar, brother Landon Ray Marlar, sisters Jolayne Crowell (Phillip) and Patty Howell, son Jason Lenn Marlar, granddaughter McKenzie Marlar, sister-in-law Terri Marlar, step-daughters Brittany Shoate and Bridget Talbot (Justin), and four step-granddaughters Bailey, Kendall, Kadence and Iva.

Arrangements are under the care of Memorial Funeral Home.