Johnny Franz
| Johnny Franz | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Charles Franz |
| Born |
23 February 1922 Holloway, London, England |
| Died | 29 January 1977 (aged 54) Hampstead, London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Pianist, arranger, record producer |
| Years active | Late 1940s – 1970s |
John Charles "Johnny" Franz (23 February 1922 – 29 January 1977) was an English record producer and A&R man at the Philips label. He was one of Britain's most successful producers in the 1950s and 1960s. While his recordings encompassed several forms of mainstream popular music, his most enduring contributions were to British pop music of the mid-1960s on records by Dusty Springfield, The Walker Brothers, and the early solo recordings of Scott Walker.
He was born in Holloway, London, England, and learned piano before joining the music publishers Francis, Day & Hunter as an office boy in Denmark Street, the British equivalent of Tin Pan Alley. He also worked as a club pianist in dance bands, and appeared on radio with harmonica player Ronald Chesney. By the late 1940s he was regarded as one of Britain's top accompanists for singers such as Anne Shelton, and at one time performed with famed jazzman George Shearing.
He also worked as a BBC orchestrator before becoming the head of A&R at Philips Records in 1954. Franz went on to produce many prolific British artists for the label, including Shirley Bassey, the Beverley Sisters, Frankie Vaughan, Robert Earl, Susan Maughan, Marty Wilde, Ronnie Carroll, Harry Secombe, Winifred Atwell, The Springfields, The Four Pennies, Julie Rogers, Peters and Lee, Dusty Springfield and the Walker Brothers in the 1960s, as well as American singers who recorded in Britain, such as Mel Tormé. He was a piano accompanist to both Anne Shelton and Harry Secombe for many years and also worked with some American artists under license from Columbia Records, such as Johnnie Ray, Doris Day and Rosemary Clooney. Franz's production trademarks were a lush choir and big orchestras, provided by Wally Stott, Ivor Raymonde and Peter Knight.
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