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The Legendary Tillman Franks

     Without question, no one else in the field of country music has had the varied life and success as has Tillman Franks, legendary star maker, manager, musician, song writer and much more. Tillman makes his home in Shreveport, La. with his wife Virginia.
     Franks was born in Stamps, Ark. on Sept. 29, 1920, but at the age of two moved to Cedar Grove, which was a suburb of Shreveport at the time. Wherever the pinnacles of success have taken him, Franks has always maintained Shreveport as home base.
     "I was lucky to have lived my life in The Magic Circle," Franks said. "The Magic Circle is an area 50-miles in radius from downtown Shreveport. All kinds of music have evolved from this Magic Circle. As an example, Hudie (Ledbelly) Ledbetter, Vernon Dalhart and Gene Austin. Then W. K. Henderson started KWKH in 1925 and that increased the power of The Magic Circle. That led to the creation of the Louisiana Hayride in 1948 and from there music from The Magic Circle went around the world."
     The many artists who came through Shreveport on their way to stardom at the Hayride include Hank Williams Sr., Elvis Presley, Webb Pierce, Faron Young, Johnny Cash and so many more.
     When he was a teenager, Franks got very ill with the flu. His folks had an old hand-cranked Victrola and his father had purchased a new record. It was by Roy Acuff and the song was "Would You Care." Franks loved the song and played it over and over to help pass the time. The sincerity that Acuff put across in the song and Acuff's simple yet complete delivery caught Franks' attention. From then on, he wanted to make Country Music his profession. At first he wanted to be a singer.
     Franks formed a group called "The Rainbow Boys" with Claude King and Buddy Attaway. "I guess we called it 'The Rainbow Boys' because we were looking for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow," Franks said.
     But his hopes of being a singer were soon dashed. He tells the story, "Buddy, Claude and I went down to the KRMD studios in Shreveport to make a record. Claude could sing like Ernest Tubb and Buddy could yodel like Jimmy Rodgers. And of course I thought I was the next Roy Acuff. When we played the records back, sure enough Claude sounded like Ernest and Buddy was yodeling just like Jimmy Rodgers. But when I heard my record, I said, 'Do I really sound that bad?' "
     Buddy replied, "Yeah, we thought you knew."
     Franks said, "I told them, 'You won't have to worry about me trying to sing any more.' It was at that point that I decided to become a manager, not a singer."
     When World War II started, Franks volunteered for the Army on Feb. 25, 1942. While stationed at Tinker Air Base in Oklahoma, Franks got to meet one of his idols, Gene Sullivan. They immediately become friends and it was from Sullivan that he learned a lot of comedy. Franks was sent to the Western Pacific to the Island of Saipan on Aug. 13, 1944 and while there formed a group which he called "The Rainbow Boys II." One of the members of the group was Pete Seeger. Gene Autry and his sidekick, comedian Ruff Davis, came to Saipan to entertain the troops. While there, Gene and Ruff appeared on Franks' program on WXLD.
     After the war was over, Franks was discharged on Dec. 1, 1945 at Camp Shelby, Miss. and the first thing on his agenda was to wed the love of his life, Virginia Hellen Suber. They married on Saturday, Feb. 9, 1946.
     Later that year, he got a job playing bass fiddle with Harmie Smith. Harmie had a program each morning on KWKH and would work a show most nights within a 150-mile radius of Shreveport. Webb Pierce was working with him at one point and later Franks got him to hire Buddy and Claude. Smith had been a popular figure on the Ark-La-Tex music scene for years. Franks said he learned a lot about the music business from Harmie.
     Franks' career was at a low point in Shreveport, Virginia was pregnant with their first child, and Dick Hart and Les Gibbs invited him to come to Little Rock, Ark. and work with them. That was in mid-1947. They guaranteed Franks $40 a week. He moved to Little Rock and Franks said some weeks he made it and some he didn't.
     By the first part of 1948, Franks was back in Shreveport working for the Bailes Brothers.
     Franks said, "Johnny Bailes called me and said they had a recording session coming up for Columbia and needed some 'whiskey and devil songs.' He said he knew I was a good song writer and bass player."
The first publicity picture of Tillman Franks and his bass fiddle.
     Franks played bass with the Bailes Brothers on the first night of the famed Louisiana Hayride on Saturday night, April 3, 1948. From then on, his life would be entwined with the Hayride.
     Shortly after the Hayride started, Franks left Shreveport to go to Houston, Tx. to join Buddy Attaway and Claude King on KLEE for Elmer Laird Auto Sales. Laird had several car lots and a car-financing firm. Franks, Buddy and Claude also sold cars.
     Franks remembered, "There I was, I could not drive a car, did not have a car and didn't have a drivers license. But I was selling cars and I did pretty good."
     "Elmer really wanted to be a song writer," Franks recalled. "We helped him write Poison Love and a short time later he was knifed to death by an irate customer."
     "We had made a recording of the song before he was killed," Franks continued. "After his death, Mrs. Laird put me on a bus for Nashville to see if Eddy Arnold, who was a big star at the time, would record it. I talked to Eddy and he said the song was a little too strong for him."
     After Elmer's death, Franks' pay was cut to $50 a week, so he packed his family up once again and headed back to Shreveport.
     This time, he got into the booking business, helping Johnny Bailes to begin with. Soon he was also booking Johnny and Jack and Kitty Wells.
     About this time Hank Williams Sr. came to Shreveport and Franks was among the first to befriend him. "He couldn't get any bookings and I booked his first show dates in the Shreveport area," Franks said. The first place he booked Hank was into the school auditorium at Powhatan, La. In addition, Franks gave him a white western dress suit, because Williams did not have one at the time. It turned out to be Hank's first western dress suit. A picture of Hank in the suit was used on the postage stamp that was issued June 10, 1993 by the U.S. Postal Service to commemorate Williams' career.
     Bookings got hard to come by, so Franks started teaching guitar lessons at J&S Music Co. in Shreveport and playing bass with the Hayride staff band. Without a doubt, he said his star pupil was Jerry Kennedy, who has gone on to become one of the most respected men in the field of Country Music. Merle Kilgore and Tommy Sands were also among his pupils.
     Webb Pierce was becoming more and more popular and in November 1949 made his first appearance on the Hayride. In December 1951, Franks joined Pierce as his Manager. It was the first job he had that carried this title. Pierce joined the Grand Ole Opry in September 1952, but before then he and Franks had a parting of the ways. But before they split, Franks had carried his first artist to the Number l spot. It wouldn't be the last.
     Slim Whitman had become a member of the Hayride and both he and Pierce were getting popular about the same time. Franks said he had the opportunity to manage Whitman, but chose not to. He recalled that he was good friends with Whitman, played bass at times in his band and helped him "all I could."
     Franks next managed Billy Walker for a short period of time.
     In early 1953 Franks started working with Bill Carlisle and the Carlisles, first as a bass player and then as manager. He again took one of his acts to Number 1 with the song No Help Wanted. In December 1953, Franks and family moved to Nashville when the Carlisles join the Opry.
     By May 1954, Franks had left the Carlisles and moved back to Shreveport for one last time. He again started booking shows and briefly managed Jimmy C. Newman.
     By July 1954, Franks was managing and playing bass with the popular Hayride team of Jimmy Lee and Country Johnny Mathis, known as Jimmy and Johnny. In early 1955, one Saturday night at the Hayride, Jimmy and Johnny had earned an encore, but the show's producer, Horace Logan, told them not to take one. Franks told them to take one. They did and Logan fired Franks.
     "He told me he would see that I never worked on the Hayride again," Franks said.
     In the spring of 1955, Franks was back on the Hayride with an artist that would prove to be his most successful, the great Johnny Horton.
     Elvis Presley had come to the Hayride in October 1954. Again Franks befriended a relatively unknown and helped him. In fact, it was Franks who brought Presley to the attention of Horace Logan, who was producer of the Hayride. In addition, Franks booked Presley on several shows during the two years he was a member of the Hayride.
     "I was starving to death again," Franks said in recalling how he and Horton got together. "I had been off the Hayride for about three weeks or a month and wasn't working. Johnny had married Billie Jean Jones Williams, Hank's widow. She had gotten a settlement from Hank's estate and they had spent it and were broke. Billie told him to get out of the house and go find a job."
     Franks continued, "So he came to me and asked me to manage him and I told him I didn't like his singing. He said, 'No problem, I'll sing any way you want me to.' He said Billie had told him if he could get me to manage him, he would go to Number One. So I decided to give it a try."
     In order for Horton to succeed, Franks knew he would have to change his music. Franks worked out a deal to get Horton off Mercury Records and got him a contract with Columbia, a bigger company that was trying to get into the Country Music field and would spend more money on promoting Horton.
This is made at the BMI awards in Nashville Tn. in the fall of 1959. Springtime In Alaska and The Battle of New Orleans were up for awards. Tillman and Virginia Franks are at left and at right is Billie Jean and Johnny Horton.
     Horton's first cut, in early 1956, was Honky Tonk Man. It was a hit. This was followed by a string of hits including One Woman Man and Honky Tonk Mind.
     The first disc to go to Number One for Horton was Springtime In Alaska. This was followed by Johnny Reb and Johnny Freedom. Horton cut the title song for two movies, Sink The Bismark and North To Alaska, which starred John Wayne.
     But the biggest hit of all was The Battle Of New Orleans. Franks said it skyrocketed to sell more than 2 million copies in just a matter of weeks. It went to the top of the Country and pop charts. It was a smash. The song had been written by Jimmy Driftwood.
     On Sept. 1, 1957, Henry Clay, general manager of KWKH, announced that Franks would be in charge of the Hayride's Artists Service Bureau. Clay also announced they were starting Cajun Publishing Co., of which Franks would be vice-president. Franks said he was supposed to get a percentage of the Hayride's profits, but that never came about. On April 16, 1960, Franks walked off the job as head of the Artists Service Bureau, taking with him the Hayride's top star, Johnny Horton. The blow was fatal. On Aug. 27, 1960, the Hayride held its last regular performance.
     Horton was at his zenith when fate knocked on his door in the wee hours of the morning on Nov. 5, 1960. He, Franks and guitarist Tommy Tomlinson had played a show at the Skyline Club in Austin, Tx. that Friday night and were in Horton's white Cadillac on the return trip to Shreveport.
     Horton was to meet Claude King at the Alligator Hole at Hall's Brake near Ajax, La. that Saturday morning for the first day of duck season.
     Horton was "dogging it in" as he approached a railroad overpass near the little Texas town of Milano. At the crest of the overpass, Horton saw a car coming toward him and on his side of the narrow roadway. There was no where for him to go.
     The time was about 1:30 a.m. Horton was pronounced dead upon arrival at St. Francis Hospital at Cameron, Tx., 13 miles away, at 1:45 a.m. Franks had suffered serious head and internal injuries.
     The driver of the other vehicle was three feet in Horton's lane. He was James Evans Davis, a student at Texas A&M College at Bryan, Tx. He was headed for home in Brady, Tx. when the accident occurred.
     According to reports, Davis had been drinking quiet a few hours prior to the accident. Horton had a premonition that he would be taken by a sudden, violent death.
     Franks had carried another star to the pinnacle of success, but now that was over.
     Franks immediately got in touch with longtime friend Claude King and started him on the road to stardom. In addition, Franks started to manage Horton's widow, Billie Jean.
     Within a short period of time, Claude was Number One in the charts with Wolverton Mountain. Franks had done it again.
     But the success was short-lived. By early 1963, Franks and Billie Jean had parted company and were squabbling. On Aug. 12, 1963, Franks and King parted company. But Franks could not be kept down.
Tillman Franks will quickly tell you that among the happiest times of his life are when he has played the bass fiddle in front of an audience.
     The same day he and King split up, Franks picked up David Houston. And the next day, Aug. 13, 1963, he recorded Mountain Of Love, written by Margaret Lewis and Mira Smith of Shreveport, at Robin Hood Brian's Studio in Tyler, Tx. Franks left for Nashville on Aug. 14 and got Houston a recording deal. By the following Friday the record was released and became a big hit.
     Franks had done it again.
     That was only the beginning, Houston had many Number One hits, including his most popular Almost Persuaded. He recorded hit duos with Tammy Wynette and Barbara Mandrell. He became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
     Houston and Franks went around the world with their music. For almost 22 years Franks managed him.
     While he was managing Houston, Franks signed Shoji Tabuchi, a tremendous fiddler who had come from Japan to the United States in hopes of making it in the music business. Franks managed Tabuchi for seven years during which he appeared as part of the David Houston Show. Tabuchi now is one of the most popular acts in Branson, Mo.
     Also during this period, on Sept. 15, 1975, Terry Bradshaw, quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers, signed a management contract with Franks. Bradshaw was a native of Shreveport. Franks immediately went to his old friend Jerry Kennedy of Mercury Records in Nashville and got Bradshaw a contract. He went on the charts with his first record, an old Hank Williams tune, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry. Franks had done it again, but the relationship was short-lived and Franks said "financially disastrous."
     "Terry Bradshaw and Billie Jean Horton caused me more heartbreak, stress and duress than any other people I have dealt with in my career," Franks said.
     Houston and Franks had a dispute and parted company in 1985. Houston died Nov. 30, 1993.
Tillman Franks, when he was a teenager, saw the great Hudie (Ledbelly) Leadbetter play his 12-string guitar and sing the blues in an area of Shreveport, La. called "St. Paul's Bottoms." One day recently Tillman went down to the corner of Fannin and Christian Sts. when he had seen Ledbelly all those years ago.
     Franks continued working in Country Music with both his Tillman Franks Singers and by playing bass with the legendary Jimmie Davis. Franks had arranged and promoted the song, Where The Ole Red River Flows, for Davis in the early 1960s when Davis was serving his second term as Governor of Louisiana. It was Davis' last song to hit the charts. Davis celebrated his 100th Birthday in Baton Rouge, La. on Sept. 10, 1999.
     During his career for short periods of time, Franks managed Jimmy C. Newman, Tony Douglas, Mitchell Torok and Claude Gray.
     After splitting with Houston, Franks devoted much of his time to the Tillman Franks Singers, with Gene White and Gene Snow. Of course his wife, Virginia, continues to be an important part of the Tillman Franks Singers and also their son, Tillman Franks Jr.
     On July 11, 1996, KWKH sponsored Tillman Franks Day in Shreveport. Many friends were on hand to honor him, including Claude King, Merle Kilgore, Homer Bailes, Frank Page, Norm Bale, Ronnie Pugh, T. Tommy Cutrer, Tom Perryman, Waylon Stubblefield, Maggie Warwick and The Cox Family.
This is a recent picture of Tillman Franks made in front of his beautiful home in Shreveport, La.
     Franks was honored to play on the 50th Anniversary Louisiana Hayride program at Shreveport's Municipal Auditorium on Saturday, April 3, 1999. Franks was among the few who had appeared on the first broadcast of the Hayride and then again 50 years later.
     Franks was recently named to the Board of Directors of the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame at Carthage.
     Tillman and Virginia recently purchased a beautiful new home in south Shreveport. They live just down the street from their long-time friend, Claude and Barbara King.
     Tillman and Virginia continue to sing both for other folks and for their own enjoyment.
     "My big thing right now is to get this book called Tillman Franks, I Was There When It Happened written," Franks said. "This is one of the big projects of my life and I am really looking forward to it being published.

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