Randall Franks

Biography: The glow of dozens of kerosene lanterns fill the rural night in the Appalachians of North Georgia in 1900, as neighbors dance to the sound of an old black fiddle played by A.J. "Harve" Franks. Little did he know that as he taught his son Tom to play, a century later, these same notes will touch more than 25 million people enjoying the music of his great grandson, Randall Franks. Randall has been called the "Appalachian Ambassador of the Fiddle." The award winning singer and musician shares his homespun humor, music and songs in concerts from coast to coast. His music is heard on radio from Malaysia to the Grand Ole Opry. Randall is one of Bluegrass music's brightest stars. When performing, the champion fiddler also shares his talents on mandolin, guitar and mountain dulcimer.
As TV's "Officer Randy Goode" on the hit series "In the Heat of the Night," he appeared for five years on NBC and CBS and now on TNT and is seen in 150 countries around the world.
Franks has appeared inThe glow of dozens of kerosene lanterns fill the rural night in the Appalachians of North Georgia in 1900, as neighbors dance to the sound of an old black fiddle played by A.J. "Harve" Franks. Little did he know that as he taught his son Tom to play, a century later, these same notes will touch more than 25 million people enjoying the music of his great grandson, Randall Franks. Randall has been called the "Appalachian Ambassador of the Fiddle." The award winning singer and musician shares his homespun humor, music and songs in concerts from coast to coast. His music is heard on radio from Malaysia to the Grand Ole Opry. Randall is one of Bluegrass music's brightest stars. When performing, the champion fiddler also shares his talents on mandolin, guitar and mountain dulcimer.
As TV's "Officer Randy Goode" on the hit series "In the Heat of the Night," he appeared for five years on NBC and CBS and now on TNT and is seen in 150 countries around the world.
Franks has appeared in numerous films including Hallmark Hall of Fame's "The Flamingo Rising" co-starring with Academy Award winner William Hurt as "Officer Randy Kraft." He starred in the sci-fi thriller "Phoenix Falling" with Stella Parton, in the Vietnam War era action adventure "Firebase 9." He also made a special appearance in Dolly Parton's "Blue Valley Songbird" for Lifetime. Franks began his movie career with a singing role in the movie "Desperate For Love" with Christian Slater.
Franks recently hosted and directed the PBS documentary "Still Ramblin'" highlighting the life of Georgia singing cowboy Ramblin' "Doc" Tommy Scott.
His latest Crimson CD "God's Children" pays homage to the brother duets of the 1930's. The project includes appearances by David Davis, Sonny Shroyer, "Enos" from the "Dukes of Hazzard," the late Cotton and Jane Carrier and Marty Hays.
Randall recently embarked on a new facet of his career when he co-authored "Stirring Up Success with a Southern Flavor" with Shirley Smith, executive director for the Catoosa County Learning Center. Franks gathered over 70 celebrities for the cookbook that incorporates celebrities, center stories and Catoosa County history and photos to assist with the fundraising project for the Center. He is currently working on two other books.
As a child, Randall was exposed to the rich heritage of Georgia fiddlin' at family reunions. Randall's desire to learn was sparked at the age of eight when he heard the "Orange Blossom Special" by Ervin Rouse and Chubby Wise. He was inspired to study both classically with Donald Grisier, Ph.D. and at the feet of some of Georgia's fiddle legends such as the Skillet Licker Gordon Tanner, WSB Barndance Host Cotton Carrier, Anita Sorrells Mathis and Dallas Burrell.
While still in school, Randall formed the children's bluegrass band The Peachtree Pickers. It was through this act that he gained attention from national acts, television becoming a regular on the "Country Kids TV Series" and appearing for the Grand Ole Opry. The group recorded five albums.
In the 1980's, The Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe took a special interest in the young band and especially the young fiddler. Monroe spent hours teaching and sharing with Randall much like Monroe's Uncle Pen had done for him. With the departure of Kenny Baker, Randall was asked to join the Bluegrass Boys. Still in school, he took off to tour from coast to coast. Though school beckoned him back, Randall continued to make appearances with Monroe up until he stopped touring.
With more than 200 recordings to his credit, his music has brought him on stage or in the studio to perform with entertainers in a variety of music fields: Carl Perkins; Charlie Daniels; Peabo Bryson; The Whites; Ricky Skaggs; Kitty Wells; Pee Wee King; Jimmy Dickens; Jeff and Sheri Easter; The Lewis Family; The Isaacs; The Primitives; Bill Monroe; Jim and Jesse; Ralph Stanley; Jimmy Martin; Mac Wiseman; Chubby Wise; Josh Graves; Doug Dillard; Jerry Douglas; Sam Bush; Byron Berline; Raymond Fairchild; The Warrior River Boys; The Sand Mountain Boys; The Gary Waldrep Band; The Cox Family; The Sidemen; "Doc" Tommy Scott's Last Real Old Time Medicine Show.
Randall was also tapped by two other nationally known performers: Folk Music's Doodle and the Golden River Grass, with whom Randall carried on the Georgia Fiddle Band tradition; and gospel quartet, The Marksmen, who Randall longed admired for their vocal artistry.
Randall founded the SouthEastern Bluegrass Association (SEBA) to preserve, promote and publicize Bluegrass Music. Through the organization which has grown to one of the country's largest he supported the creation of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA).
In 1989, Randall released "Golden River Fiddlin'" to the Folk and Bluegrass markets. SPBGMA, the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America, said Randall had a "Special Touch on the fiddle" while Bluegrass Unlimited called him "Hard Driving…Straightahead..Solid…Sure" like Tommy Jackson and Paul Warren. The project became available in chain throughout the country.
With Randall's widespread notoriety gained by weekly network exposure, he worked to expose bluegrass and Southern Gospel to this new audience. Randall continues to appear on radio stations in all formats, television stations throughout the country, gives countless print interviews talking about and sharing the music he loves.
He also carried this message to America's youth as an Honorary D.A.R.E. Officer appointed by the National Dare Officers Association, he has appeared for more than 10,000 students across the country to encourage them to live a successful drug-free life.
Randall began serving as the Chairman for the Catoosa Citizens for Literacy in 2002. The organization operates the Catoosa County Learning Center helping residents reach their goals by learning to read, getting a GED or acquiring basic computer skills.
Randall began the 1990's as he crossed over to the Southern Gospel market being the bluegrass performer to take his solo music project "Handshakes and Smiles" to the Top 20 Sales Charts. Singing News gave it "Four Stars."
Serving both as an artist and producer, he was able to include many of his music heroes on the "In the Heat of the Night" "Christmas Time's A Comin'" CD released on MGM/UA and Sonlite. The project was one of the most popular Christmas releases of the year with Southern retailers.
Both his "Sacred Sounds of Appalachia" (1992) and his "Tunes and Tales from Tunnel Hill" (1995) were among the top thirty Bluegrass recording of the year. His "Let's Live Everyday Like It Was Christmas" with Grand Ole Opry stars The Whites was given a nod as one of the top Country Vocal Collaborations.
Randall has been honored with countless awards including The Fiddlin' John Carson Award, A.S.E. Male Vocalist of the Year, The Cotton Carrier Award, S.A.R. Citizenship Award. The Governor of Kentucky honored him for his contributions to the music of Bill Monroe. He has performed at thousands of events and televisions shows including most of the leading Bluegrass Festivals, fairs such as The National Folk Festival, The Grand Masters, National Black Arts Festival, Georgia Mountain Fair, ACM Fan Fest, CMA Fan Fair, Grand Ole Opry, Fiddlin' Fish Music and Arts Festival, Command Presidential Performance, Nashville Now, Crook and Chase, Miller & Company, Reno's Old Time Music Festival and HGTV's Extreme Homes.
Randall decided to expand his career in scriptwriting began under the tutorage of Carroll O'Connor into journalism in 2000. In his first year, the Georgia Press Association awarded him a First Place Feature Photo award. He also scored several awards for his writing and assisted The Catoosa County News in yielding 13 awards in 2003 including General Excellence Award. His syndicated column "Southern Style" is used in numerous publications.
Georgia honored Randall for his work to preserve the heritage of Georgia's fiddling by naming a state sponsored fiddle contest in his honor. Franks serves as a field researcher for several museums throughout the South.
Franks said he is honored that visitors to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Macon can see his exhibit in the Skillet Licker Café beside other Georgia notables Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt and Trisha Yearwood.… Expand