Michael Franks (musician)
| Michael Franks | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 18, 1944 La Jolla, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, strings |
| Years active | 1973 – present |
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
| Michael Franks discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 18 |
| Live albums | 1 |
| Compilation albums | 5 |
Michael Franks (born September 18, 1944) is a jazz singer and songwriter. He has recorded with a variety of well-known artists, such as Patti Austin, Brenda Russell, Art Garfunkel, and David Sanborn. His songs have been recorded by Lyle Lovett, Kurt Elling, The Manhattan Transfer, Patti LaBelle, Carmen McRae, Diana Krall, Shirley Bassey, Ringo Starr and The Carpenters.
Franks grew up in southern California with his father Gerald, his mother Betty and two younger sisters. Although no one in his family played music, his parents loved swing music and his early influences included Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin and Johnny Mercer. At age 14 Franks bought his first guitar, a Japanese Marco Polo for $29.95 with six private lessons included - the only music education that he received.
At University High in San Diego, Franks discovered the poetry of Theodore Roethke with his off-rhymes and hidden meter. In high school, he began singing folk-rock, accompanying himself on guitar. Studying English at UCLA Michael discovered Dave Brubeck, Patti Page, Stan Getz, João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Miles Davis. 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 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.
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