Johnny Franz (born John Charles Franz, 23 February 1922 — 29 January 1977) was a UK record producer and A&R man at the Philips label. Although his name is not recognized by many Americans, Franz was one of Britain's most successful producers in the 1950s and 1960s.[1] While his recordings encompassed several forms of mainstream popular music, his most enduring contributions were to British Invasion pop of the mid 1960s on records by Dusty Springfield, The Walker Brothers, and the early solo recordings of the most popular Walker Brother, Scott Walker.[1]
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Career [link]
Franz had been an office boy in London's Denmark Street (the British equivalent of Tin Pan Alley), a club pianist who at one time performed with famed jazzman George Shearing, and a BBC orchestrator before becoming the head of A&R at Philips Records in 1954.[1] Some of the artists he produced were artists that never made inroads in the U.S., such as Susan Maughan and Harry Secombe; he also worked with Shirley Bassey and Marty Wilde.[1]
For Dusty Springfield and the Walker Brothers, Franz oversaw discs that matched first class pop rock material and vocalists with the better aspects of orchestral production that was more typical of middle of the road pop. Franz's role with these artists seems not to have been so much that of an innovator as one of a capable delegator. For Dusty Springfield's mid 1960s hits like "I Only Want to Be with You" — which were the best British equivalents to Phil Spector's Wall of Sound - he relied heavily upon arranger Ivor Raymonde. Raymonde also did some work on Walker Brothers hits (like "Make It Easy On Yourself"), which were also competently aided by engineer Peter Olliff; the more classical sounding Walker Brothers arrangements were frequently handled by Reg Guest.[1]
Franz and Olliff continued to work with Scott Walker on the singer's early solo albums, in which he developed a more serious and somber approach to both repertoire and vocals. Walker and Franz were personal friends, and Franz arranged for Scott to study with British vocal instructor Freddie Winrose, who taught the singer much about breath control. Franz could not continue working with Walker after the singer left Philips, though.[1]
He recorded many prolific British artists who were on the label at the time, including Shirley Bassey, as well as Frankie Vaughan, Anne Shelton, Robert Earl, Susan Maughan, Marty Wilde, Harry Secombe, Winifred Atwell, The Springfields and Dusty Springfield. Franz also worked with key Americans under license from Columbia Records, such as Johnnie Ray and Rosemary Clooney. Franz's production "trademarks" were a lush choir and big orchestra, provided in the 1950s by Wally Stott.
Franz, who was known as the 'last of the great pros', died in 1977, at the age of 54.[2]
Production credits [link]
Franz produced ten UK number ones enjoying, in total, twenty eight weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart.[3]
- "Let's Have Another Party" - Winifred Atwell (1954)
- "Lay Down Your Arms" - Anne Shelton (1956)
- "The Garden of Eden" - Frankie Vaughan (1957)
- "As I Love You" - Shirley Bassey (1959)
- "Tower of Strength" - Frankie Vaughan (1961)
- "Juliet" - The Four Pennies (1964)
- "Make It Easy on Yourself" - The Walker Brothers (1965)
- "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" - The Walker Brothers (1966)
- "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" - Dusty Springfield (1966)
- "Welcome Home" - Peters and Lee (1973)
References [link]
- ^ a b c d e f "Biography by Richie Unterberger". Allmusic.com. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p177153. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
- ^ Colin Larkin, The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 1995, p.1545.
- ^ Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 262. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
