b. Rodney Franklin, 16th September 1958, Berkeley, California, U.S.A.
Rodney Franklin was born in Berkeley, California, in September 1958.
He was taking jazz piano lessons by the age of six at Washington Elementary School.
His Administrator at the school was Dr Herb Wong, a noted jazz journalist, DJ and teacher.
Prior to signing with CBS in 1978, Rodney worked extensively with John Handy in San Francisco, and toured with Bill Summers, Freddle Hubbard and Marlena Shaw.
in the center - 1978 / rodney franklin - 1980
His debut CBS Columbia album was 'In The Center' (released in 1978), a lushly orchestrated fusion album (not released in the U.K.) featuring 'On The Path', 'Life Moves On' and 'I Like The Music Make It Hot' (with Freddie Hubbard, Paulinho Da Costa and the Seawind Horns).
you'll never know - 1980
1980's 'You'll Never Know' saw some major chart success with 'The Groove' (U.K. Top 10), even creating a brief UK dance craze 'The Freeze' (instigated by the Lacy Lady disc jockey, Chris Hill).
The album featured the artists Phyllis St. James and Paul Jackson Jnr.
endless flight - 1981 / learning to love - 1982 / marathon - 1984 / skydance - 1985 / it takes two - 1986 / diamond inside of you - 1988
His other CBS albums were:
'Rodney Franklin' (in 1980, an album with re-workings of tracks from the 1978 release)
'Endless Flight' (in 1981, featuring 'Hill St. Blues', 'Dance Tonight' and the title track)
'Learning To Love' (in 1982, produced by Stanley Clarke featuring 'Sailing')
'Marathon' (in 1984, produced by Stanley Clarke, featuring 'Stay On In The Groove' and 'Love Is The Answer')
'Skydance' (in 1985, featuring 'Fiesta' and 'Destiny', along with production work by Paul Buckmaster, who was also responsible for production work on some of Elton John's earlier albums)
and
'It Takes Two' (in 1986, featuring 'The Eagle and the Condor' and 'Broken Wings')
In 1988 he moved to the BMG imprint for 'Diamond Inside Of You' which featured lead vocals by Jennifer Holliday on the single 'Gotta Give It Up', along with the instrumental 'Shasta Wind'.
love dancin ' - 1992
Rodney has also released 'Love Dancin' for the Nova imprint.
A 'Best Of' retrospective of Rodney's work was released by Sony in 2002.
http://www.rodneyfranklin.net/index2.html
Albums:
In The Center (Columbia Records 1979)
You'll Never Know (Columbia Records 1980)
Rodney Franklin (CBS Records 1980)
Endless Flight (CBS Records 1981)
Learning To Love (Columbia Records 1982)
Marathon (Columbia Records 1984)
Skydance (CBS Records 1985)
Street Language (CBS Records 1986)
It Takes Two (CBS Records 1986)
Diamond Inside Of You (Jive/Novus Records 1988)
Love Dancin' (Nova Records 1992)
Best Of Rodney Franklin (Sony Records 2002)
