Ron Franklin

Despite Ron Franklin's aversion to sharing specifics about his origins, current residence, or upcoming performances, he has emerged as an indispensable figure within the Memphis, Tennessee music community. He has collaborated extensively with notable artists including Jim Dickinson, Jeffrey Evans and James Cotton while issuing multiple well-regarded solo albums. Franklin once informed journalist Denise Sullivan that his birth occurred at a roadside stop during one of his parents' frequent travels, and that his childhood unfolded across Texas, California, Chicago and the East Coast, though the majority of those years were spent in the Deep South. An extended visit with his grandmother at age five sparked his affinity for blues and early rock and roll through her record collection, while exposure to Memphis sounds arrived via an appearance by vocalist Jessie Mae Hemphill and legendary fife player Othar Turner on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. The city has since functioned as Franklin's primary base, and during the Nineties he integrated himself into its musical circles by performing alongside Turner as well as Magic Slim and Junior Wells. He also anchored the scruffy rock outfit Ron Franklin and the Entertainers while contributing to Natural Kicks, South Filthy, Jack Oblivian and the Tennessee Tearjerkers and Mouserocket. Shortly before Arthur Lee's death in 2006, Franklin became part of the final lineup of Love. He self-released his debut effort, Blue Shadows Falling, in 2007, after which Memphis International Records put out City Lights, his first nationally distributed recording; both projects were tracked at Willie Mitchell's Royal Recording Studio in Memphis. While pursuing informal tours that involved driving cross-country and performing at whatever stop presented itself for the night, Franklin explained to Andria Lisle of the Memphis Flyer that "If you can play a song, somebody is bound to give you a biscuit," and much of the material for his third album took shape during these journeys. The self-titled release appeared on Alive Records in May 2008. Beyond music, Franklin has explored filmmaking, directing the documentary The Man Who Loved Couch Dancing about Monsieur Jeffrey Evans of '68 Comeback and the Gibson Brothers; the film debuted in Memphis during the fall of 2007.