Fran Smith Jr. (born July 17, 1952) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist, best known for his 30-year gig with the Philadelphia-based rock group

The Hooters The Hooters are an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band combines elements of rock, reggae, ska, and folk music to create its sound. The Hooters first gained major commercial success in the United States in the mid-1980 ...

. Smith has also maintained a career as a recording artist in his own right, as well as a producer for other artists. Smith has toured as

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

in ''

Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By ...

'', a celebration of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. He also played the part of Carlo Cannoli in ''Tony and Tina's Wedding'', a long running off-Broadway comedy. From his own recording studio he has produced many successful projects for artists such as

Joe Piscopo Joseph Charles John Piscopo ( ; born June 17, 1951) is an American actor, comedian and conservative radio talk show host. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1980 to 1984, where he played a variety of recurring characters. His f ...

and

Flo & Eddie Flo & Eddie is a comedy rock duo consisting of Mark Volman (Flo, short for Phlorescent Leech) and Howard Kaylan (Eddie). The two were the original founding members of the Top 40 mid-to late 1960s rock and pop group The Turtles. After the Turtl ...

of The Turtles. In 1995, Smith released the solo CD ''For No Apparent Reason'', as Rory Kunkle. In 2005, he released ''Man Meets Machine'', Fran Smith Jr and the Ten Cent Millionaires In 2016, he released ''Mystic County'' on his son Graham Alexander's Odeon label.

Discography

*Johnny's Dance Band – ''Love Wounds, Flesh Wounds'' (1978 – Windsong Records) (Vinyl Only – No CD) *Nan Mancini & JDB – ''It's A Man's World'' (1979 – Windsong Records) (Vinyl Only – No CD) *

– ''Zig Zag'' (1989 – Columbia Records) *Roger Waters ''("The Wall")'' Live in Berlin -- (July 21, 1990) *The Hooters – ''Out Of Body'' (1993 – MCA Records) *The Hooters – ''Live! In Germany'' (1994 – MCA Records) (European Only CD Release) *Rory Kunkle (Fran Smith Jr.) – ''For No Apparent Reason'' (1995) *Largo – ''Largo'' (1998) – Mercury Records *''"Beyond the Palace",'' chapter reference dedicated to Fran Smith Jr., -- (author, Gary Wein -- release date May, 2003) *Fran Smith Jr. & The Ten Cent Millionaires – ''Man Meets Machine'' (2005) *The Hooters – ''Time Stand Still'' (Neo Records – 2007 European Release)
(Megaforce / MRI Associated Labels – 2008 USA Release) *The Hooters – ''Five By Five'' (Neo Records -2010 Release) *Fran Smith Jr – ''Mystic County'' 2016 *"The Goldbergs" series, appearance on the episode entitled, ''"The Hooters"'' -- (original air date January 17, 2018) ''*The Hooters were also honored with induction to The Philadelphia "Walk of Fame" -- (October 23, 2019)''

Other contributions

* Blake Thompson – Blake Thompson (5 Song CD EP) (1990) TC Records – (Fran Smith Jr. – Bass Guitar) *

Glen Burtnik Glen Burtnik (born Glenn Burtnick; April 8, 1955) is a singer, songwriter, entertainer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a former member of Styx. Burtnik is originally from North Brunswick, New Jersey, in the Middlesex County part of t ...

– Palookaville (1996) Deko Records (Fran Smith Jr. – Background Vocals) * Orange & Black – Baldwin Drive (2008) Zip Records (Fran Smith Jr. – Bass) * Scott Philipp – Just Another Day (2008) Joint Chiefs Records (Fran Smith Jr. – Adviser to Craig Simon producer) *Craig Simon and the vintage "The test of time" (2012) Fran Smith Jr. Bass *Smash Palace, Extended Play, Live from the Auction House *Dar Williams – Emerald *David Uosikkinen – In The Pocket-Sessions, In The Pocket Live *Graham Alexander – Repeat Deceiver, Graham Alexander *TJ Tindall – TJ Tindall's East Coast *Clayton West *Livvie Forbes – CHRONIC 2016

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Fran Jr. American rock bass guitarists Living people Guitarists from Philadelphia American male bass guitarists The Hooters members 1952 births