David "Panama" Francis

born on 21/12/1918 in Miami, FL, United States
died on 13/11/2001 in Orlando, FL, United States
Alias Panama Francis
Panama Francis
David Albert "Panama" Francis (December 21, 1918 in Miami, Florida – November 13, 2001 in Orlando, Florida) was an American swing jazz drummer.
Career
He began performing at the age of eight, and booked his first night club at the age of thirteen. His career took off after he moved to New York City in 1938. Early collaborations included Tab Smith, the Roy Eldridge Orchestra, and six years with Lucky Millinder's Orchestra at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom.
Panama Francis spent five years recording and touring with Cab Calloway. He also played with Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Ray Conniff, and Sy Oliver, becoming a highly successful studio drummer. He recorded with John Lee Hooker, Eubie Blake, Ella Fitzgerald, Illinois Jacquet, Ray Charles, Mahalia Jackson and Big Joe Turner. As rhythm and blues and rock and roll went mainstream Francis became even more sought after.
He is featured on hits by the Four Seasons ("Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Walk Like a Man"), the Platters ("Only You", "The Great Pretender", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "My Prayer"), Bobby Darin ("Splish Splash"), Neil Sedaka ("Calendar Girl"), and Dion ("The Wanderer").
He drummed on "Prisoner of Love" for James Brown, "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes" for Dinah Washington, "Drown in My Own Tears" for Ray Charles, "Patricia" for Perez Prado and "Jim Dandy" for LaVern Baker. Many music reference books indicate that he also played drums on Bill Haley & His Comets' 1954 version of "Shake, Rattle and Roll", but producer Milt Gabler denied this; Francis is also believed to have played drums for at least one other Haley recording session in the mid-1960s.
In 1979, Panama Francis reestablished the Savoy Sultans touring, recording several Grammy-nominated albums, and keeping residence at New York's prestigious Rainbow Room through the mid-1980s. He appeared in several films with Cab Calloway: Angel Heart, Lady Sings the Blues, The Learning Tree.
Awards
Francis received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1993 and was also inducted into the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. His drum sticks are on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Death
Panama Francis died on November 13, 2001 following a stroke, at the age of 82.[1]
Discography
With Ray Bryant
- Groove House (Sue, 1963)
With Arnett Cobb
- Keep On Pushin' (Bee Hive, 1984)
With Ray Conniff
- 's Awful Nice (Columbia, 1959)
With Dizzy Gillespie
- The Melody Lingers On (Limelight, 1966)
With Earl Hines
- Hines '74 (Black & Blue, 1974)
- The Dirty Old Men (Black & Blue, 1974) with Budd Johnson
- Earl Hines at Sundown (Black & Blue, 1974)
Selected singles
Year | Song title | Artist | Date | US charts |
R&B charts |
British charts |
Producer | Miscellaneous |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1955 | Only You (And You Alone) | The Platters | April 26 | 5 | 1 | 18 | song writer Buck Ram plays piano on the track |
|
The Great Pretender | The Platters | 1 | 1 | 5 | Buck Ram | |||
1956 | I Put a Spell On You[2] | Screaming Jay Hawkins | September 12 | |||||
My Prayer | The Platters | 1 | 1 | 28 & 22 | Buck Ram | |||
1958 | Splish Splash | Bobby Darin | May 19 | 3 | 1 | 28 | ||
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes | The Platters | 1 | 3 | 1 | Buck Ram | |||
1959 | What a Diff'rence a Day Made[3] | Dinah Washington | February 19 | 8 | 4 | with the Belford Hendricks Orchestra | ||
I Cried a Tear[4] | LaVern Baker | 6 | 2 | Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler |
||||
1961 | Runaround Sue[5] | Dion | summer | 1 | 4 | 11 | Gene Schwartz & Dion | back-up vocals by the Del-Satins |
1962 | Big Girls Don't Cry | The Four Seasons | October | 1 | 1 | 13 | Bob Crewe | |
Prisoner of Love | James Brown | December 17 | 18 | 6 | James Brown & Hal Neely |
|||
1963 | Walk Like a Man | The Four Seasons | January 1962 | 1 | 3 | 12 | Bob Crewe |
References
- ^ Monaghan, Terry (27 November 2001). "Obituary: 'Panama' Francis". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
- ^ "Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put A Spell On You The Singles 1954 - 1957". Discogs.com. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
- ^ Project, Jazz Discography. "Mercury Records Discography: 1959". Jazzdisco.org. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
- ^ Baker, LaVern, Soul On Fire: The Best of Lavern Baker, CD, Atlantic Recording Corporation, 1991
- ^ Myers, Marc, ‘’Anatomy of a Song:The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop,’’ Grove Press, New York, 2016 p.38
External links
- Panama Francis bio
This article uses material from the article Panama Francis from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.