Michael Franks

As a result of his his parents' love for swing music, Michael Franks was steeped in jazz during his formative years. During his teens he was at college in San Diego at the height of the beatnik era and discovered the music of Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis as well as the poetry of Theodore Roethke. After graduating he became a teacher and began writing songs in his spare time and wrote the anti-war musical 'Anthems in E-flat' which starred a young Mark Hamill, later to become Luke Skywalker in 'Star Wars'. Franks soon began to receive commissions for film scores, an early example being 'Cockfighter', the 1974 film starring Warren Oates. After this inauspicious start to his career as a composer Franks signed to Warner Bros in 1976 and began a 20 year association with the company during which time he released ten solo albums and a plethora of singles. His first album for Warner was 'The Art of Tea' which spawned the hit single 'Popsicle Toes'. Franks' career is defined by well-crafted songs performed by high quality musicians and album credits include players such as David Sandborn, Steve Gadd, Ernie Watts, Dave Samuels and other well respected jazz men. Latterly, Franks worked with independent label Shanachie Records and his album 'Time Together', released in 2011, recieved outstanding reviews from music critics.

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