David Albert "Panama" Francis (December 21, 1918 – November 13, 2001) was an American
swing jazz drummer
Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum kit, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz fusion and 1980s-era Latin jazz. The techniques a ...
who played on numerous hit recordings in the 1950s.
Early life
Francis was born in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, on December 21, 1918.
His father was
Haitian, and "his mother came from an English property-owning background in
the Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...
".
His father collected records. The young David was enthusiastic about music and playing the drums even before attending school.
He initially played in marching bands and local drum and bugle corps.
Career
Francis first played professionally in the 1930s.
He was part of
George Kelly's band from 1934 to 1938, and was then with the
Florida Collegians in 1938.
After moving to New York that year, he worked with
Tab Smith
Talmadge "Tab" Smith (January 11, 1909 – August 17, 1971) was an American swing and rhythm and blues alto saxophonist. He is best remembered for the tracks "Because of You" and "Pretend". He worked with Count Basie, the Mills Rhythm Boys a ...
,
Billy Hicks, and
Roy Eldridge
David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...
before the 1940s.
Francis acquired his nickname from Eldridge "at a moment when
ranciswas wearing a
panama hat
A Panama hat, also known as an Ecuadorian hat, a jipijapa hat, or a toquilla straw hat, is a traditional brimmed straw hat of Ecuadorian origin. Traditionally, hats were made from the plaited leaves of the ''Carludovica palmata'' plant, known ...
and Eldridge could not remember his new drummer's name".
Francis joined
Lucky Millinder
Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing and rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical ...
's big band in 1940, so often played at the
Savoy Ballroom
The Savoy Ballroom was a large ballroom for music and public dancing located at 596 Lenox Avenue, between 140th and 141st Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
Lenox Avenue was the main thoroughfare through upper Harlem ...
.
After leaving Millinder he was with
Willie Bryant
William Stevens Bryant (August 30, 1908 – February 9, 1964) was an American jazz bandleader, vocalist, and disc jockey, known as the "Mayor of Harlem".
Biography
Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, while growing up he took trumpet l ...
's band (1946), and then
Cab Calloway (1947–52); he was in three short films alongside the latter.
For much of the 1950s, Francis was a
studio musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a t ...
in New York, accompanying rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll groups and singers.
The hits he played on included:
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music.
He started his career as a songwriter for Connie ...
("
Splish Splash");
the Four Seasons ("
Big Girls Don't Cry Big Girls Don't Cry may refer to:
Music
* ''Big Girls Don't Cry'' (Lynn Anderson album), 1968
* ''Big Girls Don't Cry'' (The Weather Girls album), 1986
* "Big Girls Don't Cry" (Fergie song), 2007
* "Big Girls Don't Cry" (The Four Seasons song), ...
", "
Walk Like a Man");
the Platters
The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The a ...
("
The Great Pretender
"The Great Pretender" is a popular song recorded by The Platters, with Tony Williams on lead vocals, and released as a single in November 1955. The words and music were written by Buck Ram, the Platters' manager and producer who was a successfu ...
", "My Prayer", "
Only You", "
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is a show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for the 1933 musical '' Roberta''. The song was sung in the Broadway show by Tamara Drasin. Its first recorded performance was by Ge ...
"),
Dion DiMucci
Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known simply as Dion, is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. His music has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop, rock, R&B, folk and blues. Initially as the lead singer of Dion and t ...
"
Runaround Sue
"Runaround Sue" is a rock and roll song (in a modified doo-wop style), originally a US No. 1 Hot 100 hit (No. 4 on the Hot R&B chart) for the singer Dion during 1961, after he split with the Belmonts. It was written by Dion with Ernie Mares ...
",
Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...
("
Calendar Girl");
and
Jackie Wilson ("
Reet Petite
"Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl in Town)" (originally subtitled "The Finest Girl You Ever Want to Meet") is a song written by Berry Gordy, Billy Davis, and Gwen Gordy Fuqua, and made popular by Jackie Wilson. It was his first solo hit after leav ...
").
From 1963 Francis toured with singer
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...
for five years.
He then resided in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
but struggled to find work.
He toured
Japan with saxophonist
Sam "the Man" Taylor
Samuel Leroy Taylor, Jr. (July 12, 1916 – October 5, 1990), Sam Taylor Biography ''AllMusic'' known as Sam "The Man" Taylor, was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, and blues tenor saxophonist.
Taylor was born in Lexington, Tennessee, United St ...
in 1970–71, and appeared on film again in 1972, in ''
Lady Sings the Blues''.
Back in New York, Francis was part of
Sy Oliver
Melvin James "Sy" Oliver (December 17, 1910 – May 28, 1988) was an American jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader.
Life
Sy Oliver was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. His mother was a piano teacher, and his ...
's nonet from 1973 to 1975, during which time he also appeared at
jazz festival
This is a list of notable jazz festivals around the world.
Historic jazz festivals
Jazz festivals by country
The following is an incomplete list of notable jazz festivals, including both current and defunct festivals of note.
Africa
Angol ...
s and toured internationally with other bands.
He revived the
Savoy Sultans The Savoy Sultans was the name of two related 20th-century American jazz ensembles.
Savoy Sultans (1937–1946)
The original Savoy Sultans were formed by saxophonist Al Cooper, and played at the Savoy Ballroom from 1937 to 1946. This small swing ...
jazz and dance band in 1979, and he appeared regularly at the
Rainbow Room
The Rainbow Room is a private event space on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Run by Tishman Speyer, it is among the highest venues in New York City. The Rainbow Room serves cla ...
in New York City for eight years from 1980.
Francis became drummer in the
Benny Goodman Quartet for concerts in 1982.
He appeared in the 1994 film ''
The Statesmen of Jazz'' as a member of the Statesmen of Jazz.
Personal life and final years
David Francis died on November 13, 2001, following a
stroke, at age 82.
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
Edward Emanuel Barefield (December 12, 1909 – January 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and arranger most noteworthy for his work with Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, and Duke Ellington. Barefield's musical ...
* ''Eddie Barefield'' (RCA, 1974)
* ''The Indestructible E. B.'' (Famous Door, 1977)
With
Ray Bryant
Raphael Homer "Ray" Bryant (December 24, 1931 – June 2, 2011) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Early life
Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1931. His mother was an ordained minister who had tau ...
* ''
Groove House
''Groove House'' is an album by pianist Ray Bryant released on Sue Records in 1963.Milt Buckner
Milton Brent Buckner (July 10, 1915 – July 27, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and organist, who in the early 1950s popularized the Hammond organ.Arwulf ArwulfMilt Buckner biography All Music. He pioneered the parallel chords styleFeathe ...
* ''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'' (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
"Twistin' the Night Away" is a song written and recorded by Sam Cooke. It was recorded on 18 December 1961 and released as a single in 1962. It became very popular, charting in the top ten of both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (#9) and Billboard's R ...
'' (RCA Victor, 1962)
With
Dion DiMucci
Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known simply as Dion, is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. His music has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop, rock, R&B, folk and blues. Initially as the lead singer of Dion and t ...
* ''Runaround Sue'' (Laurie Records, 1961)
With
Earl Hines
* ''
Hines '74'' (Black & Blue, 1974)
* ''
Earl Hines at Sundown
''Earl Hines at Sundown'' is an album by pianist Earl Hines recorded in France in 1974 for the Black & Blue Records, Black & Blue label.The Dirty Old Men
''The Dirty Old Men'' (rereleased as ''Mr. Bechet'') is an album by pianist Earl Hines and saxophonist Budd Johnson recorded in France in 1974 for the Black & Blue label.
Reception
The AllMusic review by Ken Dryden stated: "Budd Johnson didn't ...
'' (Black and Blue, 1978)
With
John Lee Hooker
* ''
It Serve You Right to Suffer'' (Impulse! Records, 1966)
With
Brownie McGhee
Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk music and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.
Life and career
McGhee was ...
/
Sonny Terry
* ''
A Long Way from Home
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
'' (Bluesway, 1969)
* ''
I Couldn't Believe My Eyes
''I Couldn't Believe My Eyes'' is an album by blues musicians Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry with Earl Hooker recorded in 1969 but not released by the BluesWay label until 1973.973
Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...
With
Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter.
A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bill ...
* ''In the Midnight Hour'' (Atlantic Records, 1965)
With
Big Joe Turner
*''
Singing the Blues
"Singing the Blues" is a popular song written by Melvin Endsley and published in 1956. The song was first recorded and released by Marty Robbins in 1956. It is not related to the 1920 jazz song " Singin' the Blues" recorded by Frank Trumbauer ...
'' (BluesWay, 1967)
* ''Joe's Back in Town'' (Black and Blue, 1974)
* ''Effervescent'' (Classic Jazz, 1979)
With others
*
Red Allen
Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armst ...
, ''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
MacHouston "Mickey" Baker (October 15, 1925 – November 27, 2012) was an American guitarist, best known for his work as a studio musician and as part of the recording duo Mickey & Sylvia.
Early life
Baker was born in Louisville, Kentucky. His ...
, ''The Blues and Me'' (Black and Blue, 1974)
*
Emmett Berry
Emmett Berry (July 23, 1915 – June 22, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Berry was born in Macon, Georgia, United States. He began to study classical trumpet in Georgia, but by 18 had switched to jazz and moved to New York City. He bec ...
/Buddy Tate, ''Beauty and the Blues'' (Columbia, 1960)
*
Big Maybelle
Mabel Louise Smith (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972), known professionally as Big Maybelle, was an American R&B singer. Her 1956 hit single " Candy" received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.
Childhood and musical background
Born in J ...
, ''Gabbin' Blues and Other Big Hits'' (Epic, 1968)
*
Eubie Blake
James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, he and his long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote '' Shuffle Along'', one of the first B ...
, ''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
Eugene Conners (December 28, 1930 – June 10, 2010), known as Gene Conners, was an American trombonist and singer. He was known as the "Mighty Flea".
Conners was born in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, and grew up in New Orleans, and may h ...
, ''Coming Home'' (Belter, 1978)
*
Dorothy Donegan
Dorothy Donegan (April 6, 1922 – May 19, 1998) was a classically trained American jazz pianist and occasional vocalist, primarily known for performing stride and boogie-woogie, as well as bebop, swing, and classical.
Early life, family ...
, ''The Many Faces of Dorothy Donegan'' (Mahogany, 1975)
*
Roy Eldridge
David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...
, ''At the Arcadia Ballroom Broadway New York City 1939'' (Musidisc, 1975)
*
Roy Gaines
Roy James Gaines (August 12, 1937 – August 11, 2021) was an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He wrote and recorded the song "A Hell of a Night", which was first issued on his 1982 album ''Gainelining''. ...
, ''Superman'' (Black and Blue, 1975)
*
Dizzy Gillespie, ''
The Melody Lingers On'' (
Limelight, 1966)
*
Lloyd Glenn
Lloyd Colquitt Glenn (November 21, 1909 – May 23, 1985) was an American R&B pianist, bandleader and arranger, who was a pioneer of the "West Coast" blues style.
Career
Born in San Antonio, Texas, from the late 1920s, Glenn played with vari ...
, ''Old Time Shuffle'' (Black and Blue, 1976)
*
Tiny Grimes
Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes (July 7, 1916 – March 4, 1989) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He was a member of the Art Tatum Trio from 1943 to 1944, was a backing musician on recording sessions, and later led his own bands, including a rec ...
, ''Some Groovy Fours'' (Black and Blue, 1974)
*
Lionel Hampton, ''At Newport '78'' (Timeless, 1980)
*
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...
, ''Hey! Heard the Herd?'' (Verve, 1963)
*
Eddie Heywood
Edward Heywood Jr. (December 4, 1915 – January 3, 1989) was an American jazz pianist particularly active in the 1940s and 1950s.
Biography
Heywood was born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. His father, Eddie Heywood Sr., was also a jazz m ...
, ''Eddie Heywood at the Piano'' (Mercury, 1960)
*
Claude Hopkins
Claude Driskett Hopkins (August 24, 1903 – February 19, 1984) was an American jazz stride pianist and bandleader.
Biography
Claude Hopkins was born in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. Historians differ in respect of the actual date of his ...
, ''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
Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire co ...
, ''
Sometimes I Feel Like Cryin''' (RCA Victor, 1962)
*
Andrew Odom, ''Farther on Down the Road'' (Bluesway, 1973)
*
Red Prysock
Wilburt "Red" Prysock (February 2, 1926 – July 19, 1993) was an American R&B tenor saxophonist, one of the early Coleman Hawkins-influenced saxophonists to move in the direction of rhythm and blues, rather than bebop.
Career
With Tiny Grimes ...
, ''Swing Softly Red'' (Mercury, 1961)
*
Charlie Shavers
Charles James Shavers (August 3, 1920 – July 8, 1971) was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday ...
, ''Horn o' Plenty'' (Bethlehem, 1954)
*
Carrie Smith
Carrie Louise Smith (August 25, 1925 – May 20, 2012) was an American blues and jazz singer. She was not well known in the United States but had a small following in Europe.
Career
Smith was born in Fort Gaines, Georgia, United States. ...
, ''Do Your Duty'' (Black and Blue, 1976)
*
David T. Walker, ''Going Up!'' (Revue, 1969)
*
Dick Wellstood
Richard MacQueen Wellstood (November 25, 1927 – July 24, 1987) was an American jazz pianist.
Career
He was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. Wellstood's mother was a graduate of the Juilliard School who played church organ. Wellst ...
, ''Fats Waller Revisited'' (Classic Jazz, 1975)
*
Jimmy Witherspoon
James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer.
Early life, family and education
Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...
, ''Sing the Blues with Panama Francis and the Savoy Sultans'' (Muse, 1983)
Singles
References
External links
Panama Francis bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Panama
American jazz drummers
Musicians from Miami
Musicians from Orlando, Florida
Swing drummers
1918 births
2001 deaths
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
Savoy Sultans members
Statesmen of Jazz members
Black & Blue Records artists
The Cab Calloway Orchestra members