David Albert "Panama" Francis (December 21, 1918 – November 13, 2001) was an American swing jazz drummer[1][2] who played on numerous hit recordings in the 1950s.
Panama Francis | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | David Albert Francis |
| Born | December 21, 1918 Miami, Florida, United States |
| Died | November 13, 2001 (aged 82) Orlando, Florida |
| Genres | Jazz, swing, rhythm and blues |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1930s–1980s |
Early life
Francis was born in Miami, Florida, on December 21, 1918.[3] His father was Haitian, and "his mother came from an English property-owning background in the Bahamas".[4] His father collected records. The young David was enthusiastic about music and playing the drums even before attending school.[3] He initially played in marching bands and local drum and bugle corps.[3]
Career
Francis first played professionally in the 1930s.[3] He was part of George Kelly's band from 1934 to 1938, and was then with the Florida Collegians in 1938.[3] After moving to New York that year, he worked with Tab Smith, Billy Hicks, and Roy Eldridge before the 1940s.[3] Francis acquired his nickname from Eldridge "at a moment when [Francis] was wearing a panama hat and Eldridge could not remember his new drummer's name".[3]
Francis joined Lucky Millinder's big band in 1940, so often played at the Savoy Ballroom.[3] After leaving Millinder he was with Willie Bryant's band (1946), and then Cab Calloway (1947–52); he was in three short films alongside the latter.[3]
For much of the 1950s, Francis was a studio musician in New York, accompanying rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll groups and singers.[3] The hits he played on included: Bobby Darin ("Splish Splash"); the Four Seasons ("Big Girls Don't Cry", "Walk Like a Man"); the Platters ("The Great Pretender", "My Prayer", "Only You", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"), Dion DiMucci "Runaround Sue", Neil Sedaka ("Calendar Girl");[5] and Jackie Wilson ("Reet Petite").[4]
From 1963 Francis toured with singer Dinah Shore for five years.[3] He then resided in California but struggled to find work.[3] He toured Japan with saxophonist Sam "the Man" Taylor in 1970–71, and appeared on film again in 1972, in Lady Sings the Blues.[3] Back in New York, Francis was part of Sy Oliver's nonet from 1973 to 1975, during which time he also appeared at jazz festivals and toured internationally with other bands.[3] He revived the Savoy Sultans jazz and dance band in 1979, and he appeared regularly at the Rainbow Room in New York City for eight years from 1980.[3] Francis became drummer in the Benny Goodman Quartet for concerts in 1982.[3] He appeared in the 1994 film The Statesmen of Jazz as a member of the Statesmen of Jazz.[3]
Personal life and final years
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David Francis died on November 13, 2001, following a stroke, at age 82.[4]
Discography
As leader
- Latin American Dixieland (MGM, 1954)
- Exploding Drums (Epic, 1959)
- The Beat Behind the Million Sellers (ABC-Paramount, 1960)
- Gettin' in the Groove (Black and Blue, 1979)
- Panama Francis and the Savoy Sultans (Classic Jazz, 1980)
As sideman
With Eddie Barefield
- Eddie Barefield (RCA, 1974)
- The Indestructible E. B. (Famous Door, 1977)
With Ray Bryant
- Groove House (Sue, 1963)
- Hot Turkey (Black and Blue, 1979)
With Milt Buckner
- Green Onions (Black and Blue, 1975)
- Midnight Slows Vol 6 (Black and Blue, 1977)
With Solomon Burke
- If You Need Me (Atlantic, 1963)
- King Solomon (Atlantic, 1968)
With Cab Calloway
- Hi De Ho Man (Columbia, 1974)
- Jumpin' Jive (CBS, 1984)
With Arnett Cobb
- Jumpin' at the Woodside (Black and Blue, 1974)
- The Wild Man from Texas (Black and Blue, 1977)
- Keep On Pushin' (Bee Hive, 1984)
With Ray Conniff
- 'S Awful Nice (Columbia, 1958)
- Ray Conniff's Concert in Stereo (CBS, 1970)
- Live in Japan (CBS, 1975)
With Sam Cooke
- My Kind of Blues (RCA Victor, 1961)
- Twistin' the Night Away (RCA Victor, 1962)
With Dion DiMucci
- Runaround Sue (Laurie Records, 1961)
With Earl Hines
- Hines '74 (Black & Blue, 1974)
- Earl Hines at Sundown (Black & Blue, 1974)
- The Dirty Old Men (Black and Blue, 1978)
With John Lee Hooker
- It Serve You Right to Suffer (Impulse! Records, 1966)
With Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry
- A Long Way from Home (Bluesway, 1969)
- I Couldn't Believe My Eyes (Bluesway, 1973)
With Wilson Pickett
- In the Midnight Hour (Atlantic Records, 1965)
With Big Joe Turner
- Singing the Blues (BluesWay, 1967)
- Joe's Back in Town (Black and Blue, 1974)
- Effervescent (Classic Jazz, 1979)
With others
- Red Allen, Jazz at the Metropole Cafe (Bethlehem, 1955)
- Casey Anderson, The Bag I'm In (Atco, 1962)
- Cat Anderson, Cat on a Hot Tin Horn (Mercury, 1958)
- Doc Bagby, A Place in the Sun (Current, 1967)
- Mickey Baker, The Blues and Me (Black and Blue, 1974)
- Emmett Berry, Buddy Tate, Beauty and the Blues (Columbia, 1960)
- Big Maybelle, Gabbin' Blues and Other Big Hits (Epic, 1968)
- Eubie Blake, The Marches I Played on the Old Ragtime Piano (20th Fox, 1960)
- Nappy Brown, Don't Be Angry! (Savoy, 1984)
- Oscar Brown Jr., Sin & Soul (Columbia, 1960)
- Gene Conners, Coming Home (Belter, 1978)
- Dorothy Donegan, The Many Faces of Dorothy Donegan (Mahogany, 1975)
- Roy Eldridge, At the Arcadia Ballroom Broadway New York City 1939 (Musidisc, 1975)
- Roy Gaines, Superman (Black and Blue, 1975)
- Dizzy Gillespie, The Melody Lingers On (Limelight, 1966)
- Lloyd Glenn, Old Time Shuffle (Black and Blue, 1976)
- Tiny Grimes, Some Groovy Fours (Black and Blue, 1974)
- Lionel Hampton, At Newport '78 (Timeless, 1980)
- Woody Herman, Hey! Heard the Herd? (Verve, 1963)
- Eddie Heywood, Eddie Heywood at the Piano (Mercury, 1960)
- Claude Hopkins, Music of the Early Jazz Dances (20th Fox, 1958)
- Dick Hyman, Traditional Jazz Piano (Project 3, 1973)
- Johnny Letman, The Many Angles of John Letman (Bethlehem, 1960)
- Little Willie John, Fever (Regency, 1956)
- Odetta, Sometimes I Feel Like Cryin' (RCA Victor, 1962)
- Andrew Odom, Farther on Down the Road (Bluesway, 1973)
- Red Prysock, Swing Softly Red (Mercury, 1961)
- Charlie Shavers, Horn o' Plenty (Bethlehem, 1954)
- Carrie Smith, Do Your Duty (Black and Blue, 1976)
- David T. Walker, Going Up! (Revue, 1969)
- Dick Wellstood, Fats Waller Revisited (Classic Jazz, 1975)
- Jimmy Witherspoon, Sing the Blues with Panama Francis and the Savoy Sultans (Muse, 1983)
Singles
| Year | Title | Artist | Date | U.S. chart | R&B chart | UK chart | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | "Only You (And You Alone)" | The Platters | April 26 | 5 | 1 | 18 | Buck Ram plays piano | |
| 1955 | "The Great Pretender" | The Platters | 1 | 1 | 5 | Buck Ram | ||
| 1956 | "I Put a Spell On You" | Screaming Jay Hawkins | September 12 | |||||
| 1956 | "My Prayer" | The Platters | 1 | 22 | 4 | Buck Ram | ||
| 1958 | "Splish Splash" | Bobby Darin | May 19 | 3 | 1 | 28 | ||
| 1958 | "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" | The Platters | 1 | 3 | 1 | Buck Ram | ||
| 1960 | "Lullabye" | The Chevrons | July 20 | |||||
| 1959 | "What a Diff'rence a Day Made"[6] | Dinah Washington | February 19 | 8 | 4 | with the Belford Hendricks Orchestra | ||
| 1959 | "I Cried a Tear"[7] | LaVern Baker | 6 | 2 | Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler | |||
| 1961 | "Runaround Sue"[8] | Dion | 4 | 11 | 11 | Gene Schwartz, Dion | backing vocals by the Del Satins | |
| 1962 | "Big Girls Don't Cry" | The Four Seasons | October | 1 | 1 | 13 | Bob Crewe | |
| 1962 | "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
External links
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