Professional crooner Joe Francis is to perform a concert at the Adrian Boult Hall in Paradise Place, Birmingham UK on Friday 14th August. He has been described on BBC Radio 2 as being the exception to the rule of singers of this genre who sound the same and he has been perfecting his craft since the 80’s. Hailing from Conneticut US, Joe has had the privilege of working with experienced voice coaches. He has even been described by Frank Sinatra himself as, “one of the guys”and began singing professionally when he partnered John Pizzarelli (who is the son of jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli).
His accolades include opening up for US comedian Henny Youngman and performing with the Glenn Miller Orchestra for audiences 40,000 strong. Joe has earned compliments from a string of celebrities including Rosemary Clooney and Larry ‘J.R’ Hagman. He pursued a solo career in the late 80’s and here in the UK, Joe has worked with award-winning producer Ken Barnes (who has worked with Bing Crosby and Peggy Lee) when he was championed by the Sinatra Music Society. He received a recording contract with giants BMG and recorded a well received album ‘Every Step of the Way’ with the Pete Moore Orchestra. Established Radio 2 presenters including David Jacobs supported the record and Joe also proved he had hiddent talents, acting in the video for ‘I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now.’ This led to Joe making many TV appearances here, including interviews with Alan Titchmarsh and also to appearances at Jazz gigs including Ronnie Scotts. He also played live performances with the BBC Pop Orchestra. Joe spent a lot of time in the UK around that time and is extremely grateful for his support from Matt Monro’s family. The success of ‘Every Step of The Way’ meant Joe could enjoy fame both sides of the pond, appearing on BBC TV and perfoming high quality gigs in New York, including regular slots in its prestigious Rainbow Room. Following on from this success, Joe was signed to Damone Management GRP, working with co-founder Perry Damone. He was then booked for a lengthly UK tour in 2005, commencing for 6 consequtive nights at Hyde Park in London. Joe then released ‘Easy to Remember’ on CD. He was even asked twice to audition to play leading role Billy Flynn in West End hit Chicago, but had to turn it down due to prior concert commitments. Shortly after in 2007, he released another album ‘Moments Like This’ which was also well received in the Orient as well as the UK and USA. Joe went on to release the album ‘Where Do I Go From Here’ with new arrangements in 2012. This album included the charity single ‘Waiting For The World to Change’ which was the offical song for the Special Olympics. The album contains songs especially written by award winning songwriters Don Black OBE and Les Reed OBE. A movie acting career is also beckoning for Joe as he is down for the lead in a couple of upcoming Allestone Productions feature films. We can also look forward to another album. ‘Soliloquy’ promises musical accompaniments of the USA’s finest musicians and is due for release this summer. This coincides nicely with a US concert date and the August 14th,Adrian Boult Hall, Birmingham concert date, which swings into action at 7.30pm! Karen Hill
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