Tony Franklin (musician)
Tony Franklin | |
---|---|
synthesizers, vocals, guitar | |
Years active | 1982–present |
Website | Official website |
Anthony James Franklin (born 2 April 1962) is an
Biography
Born into a musical family, Franklin first took the stage at age of five. He got his big break in 1984 as bassist in the supergroup The Firm, with Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers and Chris Slade.
Franklin's television credits include the
While maintaining his music career, from September 2003 through July 2011, Franklin served as Artist Relations Manager for Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and SWR. He returned to music performance full-time in mid-2011, when he joined Kenny Wayne Shepherd's band for the tour supporting the guitarist's 2011 album, How I Go. Franklin can be heard on Shepherd's album, "Goin' Home", released in Summer 2014.[3]
Signature instruments
Franklin is mostly known for his work on fretless bass. In January 2006
Besides his fretless bass, Franklin has been doing sessions with the same fretted Precision Bass for many years. From 2008 to 2015, Fender offered a fretted version of Franklin's signature Precision Bass based on his particular instrument. Frets aside, it is very similar to the fretless model, with the same Precision and
Other career highlights
Prior to his work with The Firm, Franklin toured and recorded with English folk/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper, appearing on eight of his albums between 1982 and 2013.[5]
In 1996, Franklin played on long-time friend Donna Lewis's album Now in a Minute, which spawned the worldwide smash hit single “I Love You Always Forever".[6] Substantial touring followed the release of the single throughout the U.S., U.K., Japan, Europe and Canada.
In 1997, Franklin toured the world with Whitesnake as part of the "Last Hurrah" tour.[7]
Franklin cites John Deacon, Paul McCartney, James Jamerson and Jaco Pastorius as his main influences.[8]
Influence
In a 2023 interview, Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament cited Franklin as an influence concerning Ament's use of a slide harmonic on the hit song "Even Flow". "I knew at the beginning of Pearl Jam that the way Stone was writing, it was very Jimmy Page – very riffy. And because of Tony Franklin, I knew that fretless would add a really cool voice and texture to rock music. So that harmonic, I'm kind of ripping The Firm's 'Radioactive.' And I figured it out by accident. I was always obsessed with playing harmonics on bass, but at some point I remember accidentally hitting harmonics and sliding on it, so I started experimenting with that part of it. So mistakes, and also having in the back of my head that sound of 'Radioactive.' Hats off Tony Franklin!"[9]
Discography
- Roy Harper – Work of Heart (Public Records, 1982)
- Roy Harper & Jimmy Page – Whatever Happened to Jugula? (Beggar's Banquet, 1984)
- The Firm – The Firm (Atlantic, 1985)
- The Firm – Mean Business (Atlantic, 1986)
- David Gilmour & Kate Bush – Secret Policeman's Third Ball (Virgin Video, 1987)
- Jimmy Page – Outrider (Geffen, 1988)
- Roy Harper – In Between Every Line (EMI, 1987)
- Roy Harper – Descendants of Smith (EMI, 1988)
- Blue Murder – Blue Murder (Geffen, 1989)
- Roy Harper – Once (Awareness, 1990)
- Don Dokken – Up from the Ashes (Geffen, 1990)
- L.A. Blues Authority Volume II: Glenn Hughes - Blues (Shrapnel, 1992)
- Roy Harper – Death or Glory? (Awareness, 1992)
- Gary Hoey – Animal Instinct (Reprise, 1993)
- Blue Murder – Nothin' But Trouble (Geffen, 1993)
- Gary Hoey – The Endless Summer II (Reprise, 1994)
- Tony MacAlpine – Premonition (Shrapnel, 1994)
- Driver – Driver (Trauma / Atlantic, 1994)
- Jeff Beck Tribute – Beckology (Shrapnel, 1995)
- Lana Lane – "Love Is An Illusion" (Think Tank Media, 1995)
- Gary Hoey – Gary Hoey (BMG, 1995)
- Tony MacAlpine – Evolution (Shrapnel, 1995)
- Celestial Winds – Oceans of Love (Universe Music, 1995)
- MOM: Music for our Mother Ocean – Benefit compilation (Interscope, 1996)
- Warren DeMartini – Surf's Up! (Polydor Japan, 1996)
- Carmine Appice – Guitar Zeus (Apalon Japan, 1996)
- Marty Friedman – True Obsessions(Shrapnel, 1996)
- Naomi Tamura – N (Polydor Japan, 1996)
- Donna Lewis – Now in a Minute (Atlantic, 1996)
- Graham Bonnet – "Underground" (Victor, 1997)
- John Sykes – Loveland (Mercury Japan, 1997)
- Gary Hoey – Bug Alley (Surfdog, 1997)
- Various – Dragon Attack: A Tribute to Queen (De-Rock, 1997)
- Carmine Appice – Guitar Zeus 2 (Polydor Japan, 1997)
- Various – Thunderbolt: A Tribute to AC/DC (De-Rock, 1997)
- Pearl – Pearl (Polydor Japan, 1997)
- Sounds of Wood and Steel – Compilation (Windham Hill, 1998)
- Pearl – 4 Infinity (East West Japan, 1998)
- Gary Hoey – "Hocus Pocus Live" – (Surfdog, 1998)
- Donna Lewis – Blue Planet (Atlantic, 1998)
- Various – Cozy Powell Forever (Electric Angel Japan, 1998)
- Derek Sherinian – Planet X (Shrapnel, 1999)
- Graham Bonnet – "The Day I Went Mad" (JVC, 1999)
- Lana Lane – Queen of the Ocean (1999)
- Pearl – "Live in Japan" (Public Red, 1999)
- Various – "Humanary Stew – A Tribute To Alice Cooper" (Cleopatra Records, 1999)
- Rocket Scientists – "Oblivion Days" (1999)
- Warner, 2000)
- David Coverdale – Into the Light (EMI, 2000)
- Lana Lane – Secrets of Astrology (2000)
- Lana Lane – Ballads Collection II (2000)
- Various – Metallic Assault: A Tribute to Metallica (2000)
- Tony Franklin – Brave New Tomorrow (JVC/Victor Entertainment, 2000)
- Erik Norlander – Into the Sunset (2000)
- Roy Harper – "Hats Off" (Science Friction, 2001)
- Derek Sherinian – Inertia (2001)
- Doug Aldrich – "Alter Ego" (2001)
- Lana Lane – Love Is an Illusion Special Edition (2001)
- Willie Waldman– Trumpet Ride (2002)
- Lana Lane – Project Shangri-La (2002)
- Various – An All Star Line Up Performing the Songs of Pink Floyd (2002)
- Lana Lane – Covers Collection (2002)
- Tony Franklin – Wonderland (JVC/Victor Entertainment – July 2003)
- Derek Sherinian – Black Utopia (2003)
- Erik Norlander – "Music Machine" (2003)
- Derek Sherinian – Mythology (2004)
- Chris Catena – Freak Out! (Imr/Frontiers Rec., 2004)
- Vasco Rossi – Buoni o Cattivi (number 1 album in Italy, 2004)
- Calma Apparente(number 1 album in Italy, 2005)
- Kelly Keeling – "Giving Sight to the Eye" (2005)
- Derek Sherinian – Blood of the Snake (2006)
- Quiet Riot – Rehab (2006)
- Lana Lane – Gemini (2006)
- Appice / Travers – "Bazooka" (2006)
- Carmine Appice – "Ultimate Guitar Zeus" (2006)
- Sir Lord Baltimore – Sir Lord Baltimore III Raw (2006)
- Frankie Banali / Various – "24/7/365 – A Tribute To Led Zeppelin (2007)
- Eros Ramazzotti – "E2" (Sony / BMG, 2007)
- Terry Ilous – "Here And Gone" (2007)
- Vasco Rossi – "Il mondo che vorrei" (2008)
- Menchen – Red Rock (guitarist Bill Menchen's project, 2008)
- Chris Catena – Discovery (Escape/Frontiers Rec., 2008)
- Tadashi Goto – Innervisions (SPV/Progrock Rec., 2008)
- We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year – O' Christmas Tree (Armoury Rec., 2008)
- Derek Sherinian – Molecular Heinosity (2009)
- Tim Ripper Owens – "Play My Game" (2009)
- Freakshow – "Freakshow" (2009)
- Carmine Appice – "Guitar Heroes (2010)
- Thomas Tomsen – Sunflickers (2010)
- Vasco Rossi – "Vivere o niente" (2011)
- Derek Sherinian – Oceana (2011)
- Rob Moratti – "Victory" (2011)
- Docker's Guild – The Mystic Technocracy – Season 1: The Age of Ignorance (2012)
- DR.U (Chris Catena) – Alieni Alienati (Valery Rec./Frontiers/Edel 2012)
- Roy Harper – Man and Myth (2013)
- Kenny Wayne Shepherd – "Goin' Home" (2014)
- Dying To Live(2015)
- Rob Moratti – Transcendent (2016)
- Rob Moratti – Renaissance (2019)
- The Feckers – Live To Fight Another Day (2020)
- Rob Moratti – Paragon (2020)
- Derek Sherinian – The Phoenix (2020)
- Chris Catena's Rock City Tribe – Truth in Unity (2020)
- Leo Carnicella – Until a new dawn (2021)
- Joel Hoekstra's 13 – Running Games (2021)
- Leo Carnicella – Super~Sargasso Sea (2022)
- Derek Sherinian- Vortex (2022)
- Ten Cent Revenge - "Road 2 Ruin" (2022)
- Dan-I – Listen to the Magic (2023)
References
- ^ "ABOUT". Lougrammofficial.com.
- ^ "Sony Creative Software: Tony Franklin – Not Just Another Pretty Bass". Amazon. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "Kenny Wayne Shepherd album: How I Go". Kenny Wayne Shepherd official website. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ a b "Fender Products: Tony Franklin Fretless Precision Bass". Fender Musical Instrument Corp official website. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "Roy Harper Discography". Roy Harper official website. Archived from the original on 24 March 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
- ^ "Donna Lewis Discography". Donna Lewis official website. Archived from the original on 21 February 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
- ^ "Deep Purple.Net – Whitesnake History". Deep Purple.Net. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
- ^ Epstein, Dmitry M. (September 2000). "Interview with Tony Franklin". Dmme.net. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
- ^ Prato, Greg (11 July 2023). "Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, Deaf Charlie: Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Retrieved 24 July 2023.