Michael Franks

A La Jolla-born singer-songwriter with a literature degree and a hushed, wry delivery, who made The Art of Tea (1975) with Tommy LiPuma and a studio band of Joe Sample, Larry Carlton and David Sanborn, and whose "Popsicle Toes" is his only Hot 100 hit.

A poet's route to records

Michael Franks was born on September 18, 1944 in La Jolla, California. At University High School in San Diego he discovered the poetry of Theodore Roethke; he took a BA in comparative literature at UCLA in 1966 and an MA at the University of Oregon in 1968, then held a teaching assistantship in an American-literature PhD program at the University of Montreal and taught part time at UCLA. He had no formal music training beyond the six lessons that came with his first guitar, bought at 14. Copper magazine credits his English-major background for his wordplay.

His influences include Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, Gershwin, Irving Berlin and Johnny Mercer, and at UCLA Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Miles Davis. In 1968 he wrote an antiwar musical, Anthems in E-Flat Calliope, starring Mark Hamill. He wrote three songs on Sonny and Brownie (1973), including "White Boy Lost in the Blues", played guitar, banjo and mandolin with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and toured with them. His self-titled debut that year, on Brut, had little impact. In 1974 he scored the films Cockfighter and Zandy's Bride.

Warner Bros. and after

The Art of Tea, his first record for Reprise, was recorded in 1975 and produced by Tommy LiPuma; it reached 131 on the Billboard 200, and "Popsicle Toes" reached 43 on the Hot 100, his only entry. Sleeping Gypsy (January 22, 1977), partly Brazil-themed, includes "Antonio's Song (The Rainbow)" and "Down in Brazil", with strings by Claus Ogerman. He moved to New York with Burchfield Nines (1978) and made Tiger in the Rain (1979), One Bad Habit (1980), Objects of Desire (1982, which reached 45) and Passionfruit (1983), whose "When Sly Calls (Don't Touch That Phone)" is the best known song. Producers by era include LiPuma, Rob Mounsey (1983 to 1987) and Jeff Lorber (1990 to 1993).

Later albums include Skin Dive (1985), The Camera Never Lies (1987), Blue Pacific (1990), Dragonfly Summer (1993), Abandoned Garden (1995), Barefoot on the Beach (1999), Rendezvous in Rio (2006), Time Together (2011, on Shanachie) and The Music in My Head (2018). He said in a 2011 NPR interview that he writes autobiographically, although he applies liberal amounts of poetic license. His live signature is the cabasa, given to him by the percussionist Ray Armando in the late 1970s. Veronica Nunn recorded a tribute album, The Art of Michael Franks, in 2010, and the two now host a podcast called The And of One. His site notes more than 50 years as a working musician, and he played Red Bank, New Jersey on August 23, 2025.

Albums

Michael Franks 1973
A 1973 album.
The Art of Tea 1975 · Reprise
His first album for Reprise, with Joe Sample, Larry Carlton, Steve Gadd, David Sanborn and Michael Brecker.
Sleeping Gypsy 1977
A 1977 album.
Burchfield Nines 1978
A 1978 album.
Tiger In The Rain 1979
A 1979 album.
One Bad Habit 1980
A 1980 album.
Objects Of Desire 1982
A 1982 album.
Passionfruit 1983
A 1983 album.
Skin Dive 1985
A 1985 album.
The Camera Never Lies 1987
A 1987 album.
Blue Pacific 1990
A 1990 album.
Dragonfly Summer 1993
A 1993 album.
Abandoned Garden 1995
A 1995 album.
Barefoot On The Beach 1999
A 1999 album.
Watching The Snow 2003
A 2003 album.
Rendezvous In Rio 2006
A 2006 album.
Time Together 2011
A 2011 album.
The Music In My Head 2018
A 2018 album.