Michael Franks (born September 18, 1944) is an American singer and

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, considered a leader of the quiet storm movement. He has recorded with a variety of well-known artists, such as Patti Austin,

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainte ...

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, Claus Ogerman, Joe Sample, and

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (July 30, 1945 – May 12, 2024) was an American alto saxophonist. He worked in many musical genres; his solo recordings typically blended jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He began playing the saxophone at the age o ...

. His songs have been recorded by Gordon Haskell,

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

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, Kurt Elling,

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, Lyle Lovett, The Manhattan Transfer, Leo Sidran, Veronica Nunn, Carmen McRae,

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and

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

Biography

Franks grew up in southern California with his father Jerry, his mother Betty, and two younger sisters. Although no one in his family was a musician, his parents loved swing music, and his early influences included

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

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George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

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, and

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. At age 14 Franks bought his first guitar, a Japanese Marco Polo for $29.95 with six private lessons included; those lessons were the only music education that he received. At University High School in San Diego, Franks discovered the poetry of Theodore Roethke with his off-rhymes and hidden meter. In

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, he began singing folk-rock, accompanying himself on

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

. Studying English at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, Michael discovered Dave Brubeck,

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

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, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

. He never studied music in college or later, but earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA in comparative literature in 1966 and a Master of Arts degree from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in 1968. He had a teaching assistantship in a Ph.D. program in American literature at the University of Montreal before returning to teach part-time at UCLA. During this time Franks started writing songs, starting with the antiwar musical ''Anthems in E-flat'' (1968) starring Mark Hamill. He also composed music for the films '' Cockfighter'' (1974), starring Warren Oates, and '' Zandy's Bride'' (1974), starring

Liv Ullmann Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and filmmaker. Recognised as one of the greatest European actresses of all time, Ullmann is known as the muse and frequent collaborator of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, whom she date ...

and Gene Hackman. Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee recorded three of his songs, including "White Boy Lost in the Blues" on their album '' Sonny & Brownie''. Franks played guitar, banjo and mandolin on the album and joined them in touring. In 1973, he recorded an eponymous album, later reissued as ''Previously Unavailable,'' which included the minor hit "Can't Seem to Shake This Rock 'n Roll." In 1976 Franks released his second album '' The Art of Tea,'' which saw Franks begin a long relationship with Warner Bros. Records. ''The Art of Tea'' featured Joe Sample, Larry Carlton, and Wilton Felder of the Crusaders and included the hit song "Popsicle Toes". His third album, '' Sleeping Gypsy'' (1977), which includes the song "The Lady Wants to Know", was partially recorded in Brazil. Around this time, percussionist Ray Armando gave Franks a cabasa, which became a signature instrument for him to play on stage when he was not playing guitar. '' Burchfield Nines'' (1978), which includes the song "When the Cookie Jar Is Empty," reflects his move to New York City and features more of an East Coast sound. Since then, Franks recorded more than 15 albums. His best known works include "When I Give My Love to You," "Popsicle Toes," "Monkey See, Monkey Do," "Lotus Blossom," "Tiger in the Rain," "Rainy Night in Tokyo," and "Tell Me All About It." His biggest hit came in 1983 with "When Sly Calls (Don't Touch That Phone)" from the album '' Passionfruit''. Radio hits include "Your Secret's Safe With Me" from 1985's '' Skin Dive,'' and "Island Life" from 1987's '' The Camera Never Lies''. Michael Franks also recorded his cover version of "Christmas Time Is Here" (the Christmas classic) with jazz pianist David Benoit released in 1996 on Benoit's Christmas album, '' Remembering Christmas''.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Singles

1975 - Popsicle Toes (U.S. Pop #43, U.S. AC #45)
1977 - The Lady Wants to Know
1978 - When the Cookie Jar Is Empty
1979 - When It's Over
1980 - On My Way Home to You
1980 - One Bad Habit
1980 - Baseball
1982 - Jealousy
1982 - Love Duet (with Renee Diggs)
1982 - Comin' Home to You
1983 - Can't Seem to Shake This Rock 'n Roll
1985 - Your Secret's Safe with Me (U.S. AC #4, Canada AC #9)
1985 - When I Give My Love to You (with Brenda Russell)
1985 - Queen of the Underground
1987 - Island Life
1987 - The Camera Never Lies
1987 - Doctor Sax / Face to Face
1990 - The Art of Love (U.S. R&B #59)
1990 - Speak to Me (U.S. R&B #73)
1991 - Practice Makes Perfect
1991 - Woman in the Waves
1992 - The Dream (with Yellowjackets)
1993 - Soulmate
1996 - Christmas Time Is Here (with David Benoit)
2003 - Christmas in Kyoto
2004 - Smash Up 1

Appears on

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Franks, Michael 1944 births Living people American jazz singers Jazz musicians from California Jazz songwriters Jazz-pop singers People from La Jolla, San Diego MNRK Music Group artists Reprise Records artists Shanachie Records artists Warner Records artists Smooth jazz singers University of California, Los Angeles alumni