Randall Franks (left) appears on stage for the Grand Ole Opry in 1985 with Ralph Stanley, Wilma Lee Cooper, and Bill Monroe.
photo by Randall Franks Media: Donna Tracy
Entertainer/actor Randall Franks reflects on his musical successes by defining a special purpose for his tunes with a special CD series.
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“30 Years on Radio and TV Volume II,” released this month worldwide from the Share America Foundation in cooperation with Crimson Records, shares 23 bluegrass, folk, Americana music, and comedy recordings that helped Franks make a mark on radio or TV.
“From the first time I sat at the foot of the stage looking up at Jim and Jesse at the Lavonia Bluegrass Festival in Lavonia, Ga. and the other performers we consider now the legends of the industry, I knew I wanted to do what they did,” he said. “So many of them opened their hearts and shared their encouragement, talents, and lessons with me, making that dream possible.
“I could have never imagined the success that was in store, the stages that I would stand upon or the literally millions who would come to know that little boy looking up and dreaming about playing music,” he said. “I am honored to share some of those successes by creating these collections to create opportunities for a new generation of Appalachian singers and musicians to create a vision of what their dream can be through college scholarships.”
Monies received from the CD will help to fund the Pearl and Floyd Franks Scholarships awarded annually by the Share America Foundation, Inc., a Georgia 501-C-3 based in Catoosa County, Ga.
Mr. Franks became the first solo bluegrass artist to reach the top rankings of the Christian music sales charts with his “Handshakes and Smiles” in 1990, forging new ground and opening new sales outlets for tradition artists to share their music, officials said. Mr. Franks and Alison Krauss became the most visible fiddlers of their generation in music and on television of the 1990s.
The second volume highlights key songs or instrumentals which charted, were broadcast around the world, performed regularly in concerts, or received award nods in various genres of music. Many recordings feature collaborations between Mr. Franks and current or past genre stars, many of whom are now members of their respective music halls of fame.
Five of the songs included were authored or co-written by Mr. Franks, including his popular “Old Black Fiddle,” a prequel to “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” that he performed on PBS TV with the award-winning Georgia Mafia Bluegrass Band, “Mean Joe Blake” an Americana TV show theme recorded with legendary Grand Ole Opry stars Jim and Jesse McReynolds, and his “Filling the River with Tears,” popularized by David Davis and the Warrior River Boys, performed here with youth band Mountain Cove Bluegrass.
Eight of the recordings are fiddle standards such as “Back Up and Push” performed in a never-before-released live recording with Country, Rock, and Bluegrass hall of fame member Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys; “Golden Slippers” performed with Bluegrass Hall of Fame member Chubby Wise; and the Appalachian string music classic Down Yonder performed with banjo legend Raymond Fairchild.
The collection includes “Mississippi Moon,” written specifically for Mr. Franks by Jesse McReynolds.
The remaining nine recordings are popular songs or instrumentals from their genre.
Among the other notable performers included are Cornhuskers String Band as seen in the feature film “Lawless”, Doodle and the Golden River Grass, Elaine and Shorty, The Peachtree Pickers, and Gary Waldrep.
Mr. Franks, who is best known as “Officer Randy Goode” from the TV series “In the Heat of the Night,” starred in three TV series and 15 films. He became a country music personality as a youth beginning appearances at major country, folk, bluegrass and gospel events such as Country Music Association Fan Fair, National Folk Festival, National Quartet Convention, National Black Arts Festival and for the Grand Ole Opry. With 25 career albums in four genres, he has performed to over 145 million fans around the world. Musically, he is recognized as an International Bluegrass Music Museum Legend and Independent Country Music Hall of Fame member.
Among his many awards are multiple ASE Bluegrass Band of the Year awards and numerous contributory nominations for SPBGMA Traditional and Contemporary Bluegrass Gospel Band of the Year. He appeared repeatedly as part of NQC All Star Band. He is a syndicated columnist featured in newspapers across the Southeast and Midwestern U.S.
Share America Foundation event underwriters include FirstBank of Ringgold, Ga., Lane Funeral Home of Rossville, Ga., Ringgold Telephone Company, and Denny and Bobbie Whitesel for the Center for Hope of Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.
The CD is available for a donation of $14.
Randall Franks (center) pauses backstage with Grand Ole Opry stars Jim (right) and Jesse McReynolds after performing for a crowd of 10,000 country music fans at International Country Music Fan Fair in Nashville in 1992.
photo by Randall Franks Media: Donna Tracy