Carol Fran - Fran-Tastic

Album: Fran-Tastic
Size: 117,9 MB
Time: 50:47
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2002/2007/2013
Styles: Blues
Art: Front

1. Don't Deceive Me (4:37)
2. Write Myself A Letter (3:10)
3. You're Nobody Until Somebody Loves You (3:01)
4. You Don't Know Me (4:45)
5. Ain't Misbehaving (3:39)
6. I Know (3:12)
7. I Love You So (3:15)
8. Cold Cold Heart (3:44)
9. Don't You Want To Go (3:03)
10. Went Up On The Mountain (4:03)
11. Looking For Love (4:01)
12. Take My Husband (4:13)
13. Sick And Tired (5:59)

Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, this highly accomplished pianist and singer’s outstanding talent has paved the way for her prominence in the best Gulf Coast nightclubs, several East Coast recording studios, and, most recently, a series of European music festivals. It all began when she won a local talent contest at the age of 15 and hit the road with the likes of 1950s blues pioneer Guitar Slim and 1960s soul icon Joe Tex. Along the way, she had several regional hits before cutting “Crying in the Chapel” in New York City in 1965, a classic that was just about to break nationwide when none other than Elvis Presley stole her thunder by putting out a version of his own.

After relocating to Miami during the 1970s, Fran moved back home to the Gulf Coast and reunited with an old acquaintance, guitarist Clarence Holliman, a driving musical force behind Charles Brown, Dionne Warwick, the original Jazz Crusaders, and more. As a duo, the two performed and recorded to great acclaim throughout the 1990s.

This recording is Fran’s first musical outing since Holliman passed away in 2000. Backed by guitar, bass, and drums, she turns in some intensely upbeat and swinging performances, astounding treatments that highlight a diversity of styles, from nightclub ballads and in-the-groove classic jazz to rollicking blues and hard-rocking R&B. Check out Hank Williams’ “Cold, Cold Heart” done, according to Fran, “Dinah Washington-style,” the sultry “You Don’t Know Me,” a Fran & Holliman staple, or her fired-up version of the New Orleans R&B classic “Sick and Tired,” to sample some of this soulful lady’s exquisite talent.

Personnel: Carol Fran (piano, vocals); Selwyn Cooper (guitar); Harry Ravain (drums); Robert Wilson, Gary Edwards (bass).

R.I.P. Carol Fran (October 23, 1933 – September 1, 2021)

Fran-Tastic mc
Fran-Tastic zippy

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