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{{short description|American songwriter}}

{{Infobox person
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'''Tillman Ben Franks, Sr.''' (September 29, 1920 – October 26, 2006), was an [[United States|American]] [[double bass|bassist]] and [[songwriter]] and the manager for a number of [[country music]] artists including [[Johnny Horton]], [[David Houston (singer)|David Houston]], [[Webb Pierce]], [[Claude King]], and the Carlisles.
'''Tillman Ben Franks, Sr.''' (September 29, 1920 – October 26, 2006), was an American [[double bass|bassist]] and [[songwriter]] and the manager for a number of [[country music]] artists including [[Johnny Horton]], [[David Houston (singer)|David Houston]], [[Webb Pierce]], [[Claude King]], and the Carlisles.


==Background==
==Background==

Franks was born in [[Stamps, Arkansas|Stamps]] in [[Lafayette County, Arkansas|Lafayette County]] in southwestern [[Arkansas]], to George Watson Franks (1890-1967) and the former Pearl Galloway (1896-1983).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Franks&GSfn=George&GSby=1890&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=67172041&df=all&|title=George Watson Franks|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=January 18, 2017}}</ref> When he was two years of age, Franks' family relocated to [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]] in northwestern [[Louisiana]], where they assumed residence in the [[Cedar Grove, Shreveport, Louisiana|Cedar Grove]] neighborhood. In his later years he lived in southwestern Shreveport near his long-term friend Claude King, known for the 1962 hit songs "[[Wolverton Mountain]]" and "The Burning of Atlanta", a ballad about the [[Battle of Atlanta|1864 battle of Atlanta]] in the [[American Civil War]].
Franks was born in [[Stamps, Arkansas|Stamps]] in [[Lafayette County, Arkansas|Lafayette County]] in southwestern [[Arkansas]], to George Watson Franks (1890-1967) and the former Pearl Galloway (1896-1983).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Franks&GSfn=George&GSby=1890&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=67172041&df=all&|title=George Watson Franks|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=January 18, 2017}}</ref> When he was two years of age, Franks' family relocated to [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]] in northwestern [[Louisiana]], where they assumed residence in the [[Cedar Grove, Shreveport, Louisiana|Cedar Grove]] neighborhood. In his later years he lived in southwestern Shreveport near his long-term friend Claude King, known for the 1962 hit songs "[[Wolverton Mountain]]" and "The Burning of Atlanta", a ballad about the [[Battle of Atlanta|1864 battle of Atlanta]] in the [[American Civil War]].


Franks served in the [[United States Army]] during [[World War II]], after which he married the former Virginia Helen Suber (1927-2016), a native of [[Carthage, Texas|Carthage]], Texas, and a daughter of Earl Clark Suber (1900-1954), who served with the military police in [[World War II]], and the former Rose Lee Rich (1907-1937).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/152432058|title=Earl Clark Suber|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=January 17, 2017}}</ref> Virginia was subsequently reared in two Shreveport [[orphan]]ages and like her husband graduated from [[C. E. Byrd High School]] in Shreveport. She became an [[art]]ist with speciality in oil paintings, a [[seamstress]], and sang with her husband of sixty years and their son, Tillman Franks, Jr.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=virginia-franks&pid=181407245&fhid=6175
Franks served in the [[United States Army]] during [[World War II]], after which he married the former Virginia Helen Suber (1927-2016), a native of [[Carthage, Texas|Carthage]], Texas, and a daughter of Earl Clark Suber (1900-1954), who served with the military police in [[World War II]], and the former Rose Lee Rich (1907-1937).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/152432058|title=Earl Clark Suber|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=January 17, 2017}}</ref> Virginia was subsequently reared in two Shreveport [[orphan]]ages and like her husband graduated from [[C. E. Byrd High School]] in Shreveport. She became an [[art]]ist with speciality in oil paintings, a [[seamstress]], and sang with her husband of sixty years and their son, Tillman Franks, Jr.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=virginia-franks&pid=181407245&fhid=6175
|title=Virginia Franks|newspaper=[[The Times (Shreveport)|The Shreveport Times]]|date=September 15, 2016|accessdate=January 14, 2017}}</ref> The Frankses had two sons and two daughters.
|title=Virginia Franks|newspaper=[[The Times (Shreveport)|The Shreveport Times]]|date=September 15, 2016|accessdate=January 14, 2017}}</ref> The Franks had two sons and two daughters.


==Music career==
==Music career==

After the war, Franks and Claude King formed the Rainbow Boys while working at an assortment of other jobs, mostly in automobile sales. On April 3, 1948, Franks played bass with the Bailes Brothers on the first night of the ''[[Louisiana Hayride]]'', broadcast on Shreveport [[radio]] station [[KWKH]].<ref name=obit/>
After the war, Franks and Claude King formed the Rainbow Boys while working at an assortment of other jobs, mostly in automobile sales. On April 3, 1948, Franks played bass with the Bailes Brothers on the first night of the ''[[Louisiana Hayride]]'', broadcast on Shreveport [[radio]] station [[KWKH]].<ref name=obit/>


In 1955, as [[Johnny Horton]]'s manager, he switched the budding singer from [[Mercury Records]] to [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]. He was the sole writer of Horton's first [[chart-topper|No. 1]] single, 1959's "[[When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)]]". He and Horton were co-composers of "[[Honky Tonk Man (song)|Honky Tonk Man]]", Horton's 1956 [[hit record]], that [[Dwight Yoakam]] also recorded as his first single. During 1960, Franks co-wrote with Horton the successful single "[[Sink the Bismark]]".<ref>[http://www.tillmanfranks.com/biography.htm The Legendary Tillman Franks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927175050/http://www.tillmanfranks.com/biography.htm |date=2011-09-27 }}</ref> Franks was injured in the head and internally as well in the automobile accident on November 5, 1960, in [[Milano, Texas|Milano]] in [[Milam County, Texas|Milam County]] in [[East Texas]], which resulted in the death of Johnny Horton<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.nucountry.com.au/articles/diary/november2006/061106_tillmanfranks_obit.htm|title=Tillman Franks obituary|publisher=nucountry.com|accessdate=March 12, 2013}}</ref> and the eventual loss of a leg by a third musician, [[Tommy Tomlinson (musician)|Tommy Tomlinson]].
In 1955, as [[Johnny Horton]]'s manager, he switched the budding singer from [[Mercury Records]] to [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]. He was the sole writer of Horton's first [[chart-topper|No. 1]] single, 1959's "[[When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)]]". He and Horton were co-composers of "[[Honky Tonk Man (song)|Honky Tonk Man]]", Horton's 1956 [[hit record]], that [[Dwight Yoakam]] also recorded as his first single. During 1960, Franks co-wrote with Horton the successful singles "[[Sink the Bismark]]" and "[[North to Alaska (song)|North to Alaska]]".<ref>[http://www.tillmanfranks.com/biography.htm The Legendary Tillman Franks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927175050/http://www.tillmanfranks.com/biography.htm |date=2011-09-27 }}</ref> Franks was injured in the head and internally as well in the automobile accident on November 5, 1960, in [[Milano, Texas|Milano]] in [[Milam County, Texas|Milam County]] in [[East Texas]], which resulted in the death of Johnny Horton<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.nucountry.com.au/articles/diary/november2006/061106_tillmanfranks_obit.htm|title=Tillman Franks obituary|publisher=nucountry.com|accessdate=March 12, 2013}}</ref> and the eventual loss of a leg by a third musician, [[Tommy Tomlinson (musician)|Tommy Tomlinson]].
Franks' contribution to [[rock and roll]] music has been recognized by his induction into the [[Rockabilly Hall of Fame]], the Louisiana Hall of Fame, and his induction in 2003 into the Shreveport "Walk of Stars" where his feet and hand impressions are in concrete beside other talents, such as [[Elvis Presley]], [[Terry Bradshaw]], [[Kix Brooks]], [[David Toms]], and Franks' longtime friend Claude King. The Walk of Stars is located under the Shreveport side of Texas Street Bridge that spans the [[Red River of the South|Red River]] to [[Bossier City, Louisiana|Bossier City]].<ref name=obit/>
Franks' contribution to [[rock and roll]] music has been recognized by his induction into the [[Rockabilly Hall of Fame]], the Louisiana Hall of Fame, and his induction in 2003 into the [[Northwest Louisiana Walk of Stars]] where his feet and hand impressions are in concrete beside other talents, such as [[Elvis Presley]], [[Terry Bradshaw]], [[Kix Brooks]], [[David Toms]], and Franks' longtime friend [[Claude King]]. The "Walk of Stars" is located under the Shreveport side of Texas Street Bridge, officially known as the [[Long–Allen Bridge (Shreveport)]] that spans the [[Red River of the South|Red River]] to [[Bossier City, Louisiana|Bossier City]].<ref name=obit/>


Tillman Franks helped to coin the phrase "The Magic Circle," which he describes in his [[autobiography]] as: "an area 50-miles in radius from downtown Shreveport from which many kinds of music evolved. I was lucky to have lived my life in The Magic Circle."<ref name=obit/>
Tillman Franks helped to coin the phrase "The Magic Circle," which he describes in his [[autobiography]] as: "an area 50-miles in radius from downtown Shreveport from which many kinds of music evolved. I was lucky to have lived my life in The Magic Circle."<ref name=obit/>


==Legacy==
==Legacy==

On July 11, 1996, Shreveport observed "Tillman Franks Day", sponsored by KWKH.<ref name=obit/>
On July 11, 1996, Shreveport observed "Tillman Franks Day", sponsored by KWKH.<ref name=obit/>

A 1940 graduate of Byrd High School, Franks was inducted in 2000 into the Byrd Hall of Fame, along with former [[Caddo Parish, Louisiana|Caddo Parish]] [[Sheriff]] [[Don Hathaway]] and [[B. L. Shaw|B. L. "Buddy" Shaw]], a former Byrd [[Principal (school)|principal]] and a member of both houses of the [[Louisiana State Legislature]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.byrdhighalumni.org/hall_of_fame.htm|title=Hall of Fame Inductees: 2000|publisher=byrdhighalumni.org|accessdate=June 16, 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202153724/http://www.byrdhighalumni.org/hall_of_fame.htm|archivedate=February 2, 2014}}</ref>

Franks' brother, William Derrel "Billy" Franks (1926-2016), was the founding pastor of the Oakmont Church of God in the Cedar Grove neighborhood.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/161698523|title=William D. Franks obituary|publisher=Findagrave.com from ''The Shreveport Times''|date=April 26, 2016|accessdate=January 17, 2017}}</ref> Billy Franks preached the funeral of Johnny Horton in 1960. Another brother, Edward Ray Franks, Sr. (1923-2014), retired after more than three decades in the [[United States Marine Corps]] and later engaged in various patriotic activities and conducted a state-recognized [[puppetry|puppet]] ministry through the First Church of God in [[El Dorado, Arkansas|El Dorado]], Arkansas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Franks&GSfn=Edward&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=126377807&df=all&|title=Edward Ray Franks, Sr.|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=January 17, 2017}}</ref>


Franks died in the fall of 2006 at the age of eighty-six. His son, the Reverend Watson Franks, preached the funeral. The family is interred at Forest Park West Cemetery in Shreveport.
Franks died in the fall of 2006 at the age of eighty-six. His son, the Reverend Watson Franks, preached the funeral. The family is interred at Forest Park West Cemetery in Shreveport.


In 2019, [[KEEL]] Radio recalled Franks as "a legend that should be remembered [for] all the contributions not only to Shreveport's musical history but to rock and country ... because, sadly, the man's impact far exceeds his legacy ...He wrote great music. He recorded great music (he's associated with more than 50 No. 1 Country hits). He managed great talent. He had a great eye and ear for musical talent. His impact is truly amazing."<ref name=mparker>{{cite web|url=https://710keel.com/the-forgotten-legacy-of-tillman-franks/|title=The Forgotten Legacy of Tllman Franks|publisher=[[KEEL]] Radio|date=February 21, 2019|author=Matt Parker}}</ref>
In 2019, [[KEEL]] Radio recalled Franks as "a legend that should be remembered [for] all the contributions not only to Shreveport's musical history but to rock and country."<ref name="mparker">{{cite web|url=https://710keel.com/the-forgotten-legacy-of-tillman-franks/|title=The Forgotten Legacy of Tllman Franks|publisher=[[KEEL]] Radio|date=February 21, 2019|author=Matt Parker}}</ref>


Franks' out-of-print autobiography entitled ''Tillman Franks: I Was There When It Happened'' is still in demand by his remaining fans.<ref name=mparker/>
Franks' out-of-print autobiography entitled ''Tillman Franks: I Was There When It Happened'' is still in demand by his remaining fans.<ref name=mparker/>


{{Portal bar|Biography|United States|Music|World War II|Christianity}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|United States|Music|Christianity}}


==Notes==
==Notes==
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==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.tillmanfranks.com/ Tillman Franks Web site]
*[http://www.tillmanfranks.com/ Tillman Franks Web site]
*[{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p186823/biography|pure_url=yes}} Franks at Allmusic.com]
*[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p186823/biography|pure_url=yes}} Franks at Allmusic.com]
*[http://www.hillbilly-music.com/news/story/index.php?id=6049 Frank Tillman at Hillbilly-Music.com]
*[http://www.hillbilly-music.com/news/story/index.php?id=6049 Frank Tillman at Hillbilly-Music.com]


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[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:American double-bassists]]
[[Category:American double-bassists]]
[[Category:Male double-bassists]]
[[Category:American male double-bassists]]
[[Category:American country songwriters]]
[[Category:American country songwriters]]
[[Category:American male songwriters]]
[[Category:American male songwriters]]
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[[Category:Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Starday Records artists]]
[[Category:Starday Records artists]]
[[Category:American army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
⚫
[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Louisiana]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Louisiana]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Arkansas]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Arkansas]]
[[Category:20th-century double-bassists]]
[[Category:20th-century double-bassists]]
[[Category:20th-century male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
⚫
[[Category:20th-century American songwriters]]

Latest revision as of 07:22, 1 April 2024

Tillman Franks
Born(1920-09-29)September 29, 1920
Stamps, Lafayette County
Arkansas, USA
DiedOctober 26, 2006(2006-10-26) (aged 86)
Shreveport, Caddo Parish
Louisiana
Resting placeForest Park West Cemetery in Shreveport
Alma materC. E. Byrd High School
Occupation(s)Country music bassist/songwriter and manager
SpouseVirginia Helen Suber Franks (married 1946-2006, his death)
ChildrenTillman Ben Franks, Jr.

The Reverend Watson Franks
Darlene Pearl Franks Pace Launius

Carolyn Rose Franks Browning

Tillman Ben Franks, Sr. (September 29, 1920 – October 26, 2006), was an American bassist and songwriter and the manager for a number of country music artists including Johnny Horton, David Houston, Webb Pierce, Claude King, and the Carlisles.

Background

[edit]

Franks was born in Stamps in Lafayette County in southwestern Arkansas, to George Watson Franks (1890-1967) and the former Pearl Galloway (1896-1983).[1] When he was two years of age, Franks' family relocated to Shreveport in northwestern Louisiana, where they assumed residence in the Cedar Grove neighborhood. In his later years he lived in southwestern Shreveport near his long-term friend Claude King, known for the 1962 hit songs "Wolverton Mountain" and "The Burning of Atlanta", a ballad about the 1864 battle of Atlanta in the American Civil War.

Franks served in the United States Army during World War II, after which he married the former Virginia Helen Suber (1927-2016), a native of Carthage, Texas, and a daughter of Earl Clark Suber (1900-1954), who served with the military police in World War II, and the former Rose Lee Rich (1907-1937).[2] Virginia was subsequently reared in two Shreveport orphanages and like her husband graduated from C. E. Byrd High School in Shreveport. She became an artist with speciality in oil paintings, a seamstress, and sang with her husband of sixty years and their son, Tillman Franks, Jr.[3] The Franks had two sons and two daughters.

Music career

[edit]

After the war, Franks and Claude King formed the Rainbow Boys while working at an assortment of other jobs, mostly in automobile sales. On April 3, 1948, Franks played bass with the Bailes Brothers on the first night of the Louisiana Hayride, broadcast on Shreveport radio station KWKH.[4]

In 1955, as Johnny Horton's manager, he switched the budding singer from Mercury Records to Columbia. He was the sole writer of Horton's first No. 1 single, 1959's "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)". He and Horton were co-composers of "Honky Tonk Man", Horton's 1956 hit record, that Dwight Yoakam also recorded as his first single. During 1960, Franks co-wrote with Horton the successful singles "Sink the Bismark" and "North to Alaska".[5] Franks was injured in the head and internally as well in the automobile accident on November 5, 1960, in Milano in Milam County in East Texas, which resulted in the death of Johnny Horton[4] and the eventual loss of a leg by a third musician, Tommy Tomlinson.

Franks' contribution to rock and roll music has been recognized by his induction into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Hall of Fame, and his induction in 2003 into the Northwest Louisiana Walk of Stars where his feet and hand impressions are in concrete beside other talents, such as Elvis Presley, Terry Bradshaw, Kix Brooks, David Toms, and Franks' longtime friend Claude King. The "Walk of Stars" is located under the Shreveport side of Texas Street Bridge, officially known as the Long–Allen Bridge (Shreveport) that spans the Red River to Bossier City.[4]

Tillman Franks helped to coin the phrase "The Magic Circle," which he describes in his autobiography as: "an area 50-miles in radius from downtown Shreveport from which many kinds of music evolved. I was lucky to have lived my life in The Magic Circle."[4]

Legacy

[edit]

On July 11, 1996, Shreveport observed "Tillman Franks Day", sponsored by KWKH.[4]

Franks died in the fall of 2006 at the age of eighty-six. His son, the Reverend Watson Franks, preached the funeral. The family is interred at Forest Park West Cemetery in Shreveport.

In 2019, KEEL Radio recalled Franks as "a legend that should be remembered [for] all the contributions not only to Shreveport's musical history but to rock and country."[6]

Franks' out-of-print autobiography entitled Tillman Franks: I Was There When It Happened is still in demand by his remaining fans.[6]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "George Watson Franks". Findagrave.com. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  2. ^ "Earl Clark Suber". Findagrave.com. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  3. ^ "Virginia Franks". The Shreveport Times. September 15, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Tillman Franks obituary". nucountry.com. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  5. ^ The Legendary Tillman Franks Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b Matt Parker (February 21, 2019). "The Forgotten Legacy of Tllman Franks". KEEL Radio.
[edit]
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