Stewart Francke (September 15, 1958 – May 9, 2025) was an American singer, musician and songwriter in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Life and career

Francke was born in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

on September 15, 1958. According to Pete Wurdock, Francke's manager, Stewart started performing music when he turned 19 years old.

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, a founding member of The Woolies and a blues musician from the Midwest, served as his mentor during his formative years. Before focusing on music full-time, Francke worked as a music journalist for newspapers nationally, including the

Metro Times The ''Detroit Metro Times'' is a progressive alternative weekly newspaper located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. The ''Metro Times'' was an official sponsor of the now-defunct De ...

, after graduating from the

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. One of his later CDs, ''Heartless World'', released in May 2011, features a guest appearance by

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. His album, ''Motor City Serenade'', was recorded with the legendary

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session band

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. Francke's music won numerous awards: nine Detroit music awards,

Hour Detroit ''Hour Detroit'' is a monthly city magazine covering the Metro Detroit area. The magazine uses a glossy oversized format and features content on restaurants, arts and entertainment, and trends in fashion and décor. It began publication in 1996 an ...

's most popular musician 2002-2004, four straight

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

writer's awards, and the prestigious Point of Light Award for his work in cancer care. The Stewart Francke Leukemia Foundation (SFLF) was also presented the Partnership In Humanity Award by the Detroit Newspapers, and he was awarded a Creative Artist Grant by Artserve Michigan in 2003. In 2009, Stewart Francke received the 20th Anniversary Lifetime Achievement Arts Award from his hometown of Saginaw. Francke died on the morning of May 9, 2025, due to complications from a stroke he suffered in 2019. He was 66.

Discography

* 1995: ''Where the River Meets the Bay'' (Schoolkids Records) * 1996: ''Expecting Heroes'' (Wild Justice) * 1997: ''House of Lights'' (Blue Boundary Records) * 1998: ''Sunflower Soul Serenade'' (Blue Boundary Records) * 1999: ''Swimming in Mercury'' (Blue Boundary Records) * 2000: ''What We Talk of ... When We Talk'' (Blue Boundary Records) * 2001: ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: Best of Stewart Francke'' (Blue Boundary Records) * 2002: ''Wheel of Life'' (Blue Boundary Records) * 2005: ''Motor City Serenade'' (Zane Records) * 2008: ''Alive and Unplugged at The Ark'' (Zane Records) * 2011: ''Heartless World'' (Blue Boundary Records) * 2012: ''Love Implied'' (Blue Boundary Records) * 2013: ''A Familiar Fire'' (Blue Boundary Records) * 2015: ''Midwestern---The Best of Stewart Francke.''

References

External links

stewartfrancke.com * 1958 births 2025 deaths American male singer-songwriters People from Saginaw, Michigan People from Huntington Woods, Michigan Singer-songwriters from Michigan {{US-musician-stub