Michael T. Franklin

Michael T. Franklin (born April 16, 1952) is an American musician and record producer.

Michael T. Franklin
Michael Franklin in concert at the Beijing World Center in 2014
Background information
Born (1952-04-16) April 16, 1952
Buffalo, New York, United States
GenresRock, jazz, classical, fusion
Occupation(s)Musician, Producer, Inventor, Consultant
InstrumentsKeyboard, vocals
LabelsWolfman Jack, Jon Anderson, Blues Image, Rick Wakeman, Spencer Davis, Pat Travers, Patrick Moraz, Rockin Robin, Iron Butterfly, Hard Rock Live Band, Felix the Cat, Hello Kitty

Biography

Early career

Michael Thomas Franklin was born in Buffalo, New York, United States. As a producer, keyboard player and vocalist, he began his career performing in a local Buffalo band called The Movement. The group had a regional hit in 1966 with "Left Silently". In 1969 his family relocated to Chesterton, Indiana,[1] where he performed with several local groups, including GUM, Polyphemus and Rafter After.

In 1974 Franklin started his first recording studio Futuresound, in Beverly Shores, Indiana, where he would record and produce Danny & the Juniors, Eldee Young, Lou Christie, and The Drifters, among others, leading to a 1982 Grammy nomination for best recording of Reggae Tribute, Warner/Electra/Asylum, on location in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

In 1984 he recorded his first solo jazz CD, Jazz Vein. The album featured his band: brother Tim Franklin on bass, Barry Sperti on sax, and Paul Parker on drums. It also featured Chuck Leavell from the Rolling Stones and the Allman Brothers Band on keys and Laudir de Oliveira of the band Chicago on percussion. Later that year, he formed an original music group "Lost Weekend" which had regional success and recorded a self-titled album. Lost Weekend became Rockin Robin, a backup band that accompanied national acts around the country.

Wolfman Jack

That same year, in 1984, Franklin met Wolfman Jack[2] and become his bandleader, touring around the country.

In 1986 Franklin relocated to Orlando, Florida, to become Music Director of Little Darlin's Rock and Roll Palace.[3] He planned to pay back his friend Wolfman for his years of support by convincing producers to use Wolfman as the host of a new television show, Rock and Roll Palace TV Shows. The show was filmed at Little Darlin's, and in Nashville and Baltimore. Franklin negotiated to change the club name to "Wolfman Jack's Rock and Roll Palace".

He music directed over 180 TV shows, most with Wolfman Jack as the host.

Studio work

In the 1980s, Franklin did session work for The Staple Singers, Middle of the Road, Shut up and Drive and others. He also composed music for many soundtrack libraries.

In the nineties he began producing music for cartoons such as Felix the Cat and Hello Kitty. Working from his own studio, he produced CDs for Tommy Roe, Gloria Gaynor, Spencer Davis, Edgar Winter, Toto's Bobby Kimball and others.

In 1992 he traveled to the Isle of Man to produce Classic Tracks for Rick Wakeman of Yes. While mixing in Philadelphia he recorded with Puck and Nat on the Beverly Hills, 90210 soundtrack.

In January 1992 he and the band performed with Bruce Hornsby at the Super Bowl.

In September 1992 he joined the Crickets for the opening of the musical Buddy, with Paul McCartney.

In 1993 he produced Windows of Time for his close friend Patrick Moraz of The Moody Blues.

Hard Rock

After Wolfman's death in 1995, he became music director of Hard Rock Live in Orlando from 1998 to 2001,[4] performing with classic artists as band leader. Franklin performed alongside Joe Walsh, Bruce Hornsby, Leslie West, Edgar Winter, Melanie Safka, Don Mclean, Rick Derringer, Bobby Kimball and others.[5]

He would also appear on events as keyboard player for Chuck Berry's birthday dates, and the opening of the musical Buddy with Paul McCartney.

Japan, China and Inventions

Franklin has spent a good bit of time living and working in Asia. Starting in 1992, with Rockin Robin, he traveled to Japan several times.[6] In 1998, he composed music for Felix the Cat's Musical Adventure, with Hello Kitty, for Felix the Cat productions. Beginning in 2001, Franklin produced music in China, working with some of the biggest Chinese stars, such as Andy Hui, Lang Lang, A-Mei and others.

He began spending the majority of the year in China, where he began working on entertainment productions and his own electronics design business. After visiting China several times he met a long-term resident who had the idea of bringing an American-style carnival to the mainland. After many hours of meetings and working with numerous potential stakeholders the American International Carnival was born, which brought a large American carnival company to play to millions of people in Tianjin, Nanning, and Shenyang.

Franklin invented the Volt, a solar charger for iPhone and then iPad, and worked with Optimum Solar to develop "The Plug and Play", a totally self-contained solar power plant, both products selling globally.[7]

Return to the States

Michael Franklin continues to produce from Beijing and Orlando. In 2014, he returned to the United States to resume his music full-time. He open Solar Studios and started the Solar Music label, where has produced many project for the label. Pat Travers, Randi Paul, Little Anthony, Terry Sylvester of The Hollies, Heather Rice, Fei Peng, Mike Pinera, Blues Image, Larry Coryell and most noted Jon Anderson.

Jon Anderson 1000 Hands

Michael recorded arrangements for Jon Anderson of Yes in 1996, however the project went dormant of many years. In July 2015, Michael traveled to California to perform at The Bakersfield Music Festival. He and Jon met to discuss rebooting the project. Michael use some of the original music and transformed that with his orchestration and use on many appearances by artists he believe would make it work. Chick Corea, Ian Anderson, Billy Cobham, Tower of Power, Jean Luc Ponty, Larry Coryell, and many other. This limited release led to highly acclaimed 2019 tour "Jon Anderson 1000 Hands Chapter 1". The album project was released worldwide by Blue Elan Records, May 2020. Chapter 2 featuring many other artists and new songs set for May 2021. [8]

Scheduled projects include:

  • “Fingers”- Heather Rice, jazz
  • “Next Voyage” Blues Image featuring Mike Pinera, blues rock
  • “Anahata”- Michael and Timothy Franklin, jazz
  • “Virtual Smorgasbord”-Michael and Timothy Franklin, rock
  • “Symphoerotica”- Symphoerotica, classical rock
  • "1000 Hands Chapter 1"-Jon Anderson, world, symphonic, rock
  • " Another Day in the Neighborhood"- Randie Paul, Blues, rock
  • "Numbers"- Fei Fei- Chinese folk, rock
  • "Not in Kansas Anymore"- Robby Steinhart set for July 2020.

Discography
Artist Title Year
The Movement Left Silently 1968
Michael Franklin Future Star 1972
Michael Franklin Old House 1974
Michael Franklin Beverly Shores Massacre & other Love Songs 1978
Franklin Brothers Xmas Treeo 1981
Northern Indiana Choir Northern Indiana Choir 1982
Michael Franklin Rivers of The World 1982
Angie Fradocus Angie Fradocus 1982
Various Artists Reggae Tribute 1982
Ellen Dolak Morning Light 1983
Ellen Dolak Jumpin Up and Down for You 1984
Ron Buffington The Harmony is Missing 1985
Michael Franklin Jazz Vein 1984
Lost Weekend Lost Weekend 1984
Michael Franklin State of the Art Christmas 1985
Tim Franklin Honorable Quest 1986
Various Artists Legends of Rock and Roll 1987
Various Artists Rock and Roll Palace 1989
Various Artists Rock and Roll Christmas 1990
Rick Wakeman Classic Tracks 1992
Various Artists Beverly Hills 91210 1992
Melanie Safka Freedom Knows My Name 1993
Melanie Safka Silence Is King 1993
Patrick Moraz Windows of Time 1994
Timmy Flaherty Dream of Erin 1994
Rockin Robin Reruns 1994
Pat Travers Half Way to Somewhere 1995
Melanie Safka Beautiful People 1995
Carl Gardner One Cool Cat 1996
Big Bopper Junior Legacy of the Big Bopper 1997
Pat Travers Blues Tracks 2 1998
Jon Anderson Uzlot (unreleased) 1998
Margarita Medina Margarita 1998
Melanie Safka Ruby Tuesday 2000
Various Artists Black Cat Blues 2000
Rockin Robin Live on the Radio 2001
Melanie Safka Beautiful People 2001
Melanie Safka Summer of Love 2003
Tommy Roe Salute 2003
Melanie Safka Shine On 2003
Kristie Deluca Analyze 2004
Melanie Safka Moments From My Life 2004
Melanie Safka Dust In The Wind 2004
Avo Uveszian Legacy 2004
Doctor Hook Hookah 2005
Karyn Uvezian Karyn 2005
Gary Puckett Gary Puckett's Greatest Hits 2007
Gloria Gaynor Christmas Presence 2008
Don Orilio When You Gotta Go 2012
Heather Rice Fingers 2016
Blues Image Next Voyage 2017
Michael and Tim Franklin Virtual Smorgasborg 2020
Michael and Tim Franklin Anahata 2017
Michael Franklin Forgotten Secrets in progress
Fei Peng Curious 2017
Tim Franklin Wow in progress
Jon Anderson 1000 Hands Chapter One 2019
gollark: Or "e"/"em" if you want to be COOL and TRENDY and have NOBODY UNDERSTAND YOU.
gollark: Yes, it really is quite a good pronoun.
gollark: Technically I need glasses a bit, but they're annoying and expensive so I ignore it.
gollark: Yes.
gollark: My eyes are uncool and betrayed me, so I can't focus on faraway objects very well.

References
  1. "Bio". Michaelfranklin.com.
  2. "Wolfman Jack: He's An Oldie But Goody". Orlando Sentinel.
  3. "Stars' Autographs Will Call The Tune". Orlando Sentinel.
  4. "Greetings for the Orlando Music Scene". Orlando Magazine. October 1999.
  5. McCabe, Sean. "HOME".
  6. "Japanese Rock To Rockin' Robin On A Roll". Orlando Sentinel.
  7. http://www.optimumsolar.com
  8. "Home - The Franklin Music Group". Conventionmusic.com.
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