Carol Fran (born Carol Augustus Anthony; October 23, 1933 – September 1, 2021) was an American

soul blues Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music. Origin African American singers and musicians who grew up listening to the electric blues by a ...

singer, pianist, and songwriter, best known for her string of single releases in the 1950s and 1960s, and her later musical association with her husband, Clarence Hollimon. She released six albums since 1992 including four as a duo with Hollimon.

Biography

Henry Grey and Carol Fran Festival International 2010 01

Carol Augustus Anthony was born in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234 ...

. Commencing her

jump blues Jump blues is an up-tempo style of blues, usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues was renewed in the 1990s a ...

singing career with Don Conway, she subsequently relocated to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Bourbon Street Bourbon Street (french: Rue Bourbon, es, Calle de Borbón) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars a ...

, New Orleans, Fran also undertook a tour of Mexico. Her debut single was "Emmitt Lee", recorded in 1957 and released by Excello Records. Three more singles ensued, but lack of success saw Fran singing with

Guitar Slim Eddie Jones (December 10, 1926 – February 7, 1959), better known as Guitar Slim, was an American guitarist in the 1940s and 1950s, best known for the million-selling song " The Things That I Used to Do", for Specialty Records. It is listed in t ...

, and after his death in 1959, she then sang alongside Nappy Brown,

Lee Dorsey Irving Lee Dorsey (December 24, 1924 – December 1, 1986) was an American pop and R&B singer during the 1960s. His biggest hits were " Ya Ya" (1961) and " Working in the Coal Mine" (1966). Much of his work was produced by Allen Toussaint, with ...

, and Joe Tex. Lyric Records then offered a recording contract to Fran. Her next offerings were a

swamp pop Swamp pop is a music genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s by young Cajuns and Creoles, it combines New Orleans–style rhythm and blues, country and wester ...

version of " The Great Pretender" (1962) and a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

of " Crying in the Chapel" (1964). Despite a subsequent reissue of the latter on Josie Records, her momentum was stalled by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

's release of his own version. Her follow-up, "You Can't Stop Me," was enhanced by an

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

by Sammy Lowe, whilst the

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music. He started his career as a songwriter for Connie Fran ...

penned "A World Without You", also failed to find sufficient buyers. After another effort, "Any Day Love Walks In," she returned to the concert circuit. In 1967, she signed to

Roulette Records Roulette Records was an American record company and label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Kahl, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed d ...

and issued a version of

Brook Benton Benjamin Franklin Peay (September 19, 1931 – April 9, 1988), better known as Brook Benton, was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960 ...

's "So Close." Success still eluded her and many recordings remained unreleased. Downhearted she concentrated on performing in clubs back in Louisiana. In 1982, Fran met the session guitarist Clarence Hollimon, and they went on to marry a year later and relocated to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. After appearing together in concert, Black Top Records released their 1992 album ''Soul Sensation''. Elsewhere, in 1993, Fran contributed to

Guitar Shorty David William Kearney (September 8, 1934 – April 20, 2022), known as Guitar Shorty, was an American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was known for his explosive guitar style and wild stage antics. Credited with influencing bot ...

's album, '' Topsy Turvy''. In 1996, Fran and Hollimon appeared at the Long Beach Blues Festival. ''See There!'' (1994) was her next album release, before another collaboration with Hollimon saw the issue of ''It's About Time'' (2000). However, Hollimon died the same year, and Fran moved back to Lafayette. She recorded her first solo effort ''Fran-tastic'' in New Orleans in October 2001 which was released the following year. She appeared in the 2015 documentary film '' I Am the Blues''. Fran was a recipient of the 2013

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's ...

awarded by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federa ...

, which is the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts in the United States. In 2020, Carol Fran released her first newly recorded album in 18 years titled ''All Of My Life: The Saint Agnes Sessions''. This was an LP only release by

Jazz Foundation of America The Jazz Foundation of America (JFA) is a non-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York that was founded in 1989. Its programs seek to help jazz and blues musicians in need of emergency funds and connect them with performance opportunitie ...

. In the same year, her documentary film ''Carol Fran: Tous Les Jours C'est Pas La Même, Every Day Is Not The Same'' was released by Coulee Productions. Fran died from post-

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

complications at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center in Lafayette, Louisiana, on September 1, 2021, aged 87.

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

References

External links