Panama Francis

David Albert "Panama" Francis (December 21, 1918 – November 13, 2001) was an American swing jazz drummer^[1][2] who played on numerous hit recordings in the 1950s.

Panama Francis
Birth name	David Albert Francis
Born	(1918-12-21)December 21, 1918 Miami, Florida, US
Died	November 13, 2001(2001-11-13) (aged 82) Orlando, Florida, US
Genres	Jazz, swing, R&B
Occupation	Musician
Instrument	Drums
Years active	1930s–1980s

Early life

Francis was born in Miami, Florida, on December 21, 1918.^[3] His father was Haitian, and "his mother came from an English property-owning background in the Bahamas".^[4] His father collected records. The young David was enthusiastic about music and playing the drums even before attending school.^[3] He initially played in marching bands and local drum and bugle corps.^[3]

Career

Francis first played professionally in the 1930s.^[3] He was part of George Kelly's band from 1934 to 1938, and was then with the Florida Collegians in 1938.^[3] After moving to New York that year, he worked with Tab Smith, Billy Hicks, and Roy Eldridge before the 1940s.^[3] Francis acquired his nickname from Eldridge "at a moment when [Francis] was wearing a panama hat and Eldridge could not remember his new drummer's name".^[3]

Francis joined Lucky Millinder's big band in 1940, so often played at the Savoy Ballroom.^[3] After leaving Millinder he was with Willie Bryant's band (1946), and then Cab Calloway (1947–52); he was in three short films alongside the latter.^[3]

For much of the 1950s, Francis was a studio musician in New York, accompanying rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll groups and singers.^[3] The hits he played on included: Bobby Darin ("Splish Splash"); the Four Seasons ("Big Girls Don't Cry", "Walk Like a Man"); the Platters ("The Great Pretender", "My Prayer", "Only You", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"), Dion DiMucci "Runaround Sue", Neil Sedaka ("Calendar Girl");^[5] and Jackie Wilson ("Reet Petite").^[4]

From 1963 Francis toured with singer Dinah Shore for five years.^[3] He then resided in California but struggled to find work.^[3] He toured Japan with saxophonist Sam "the Man" Taylor in 1970–71, and appeared on film again in 1972, in Lady Sings the Blues.^[3] Back in New York, Francis was part of Sy Oliver's nonet from 1973 to 1975, during which time he also appeared at jazz festivals and toured internationally with other bands.^[3] He revived the Savoy Sultans jazz and dance band in 1979, and he appeared regularly at the Rainbow Room in New York City for eight years from 1980.^[3] Francis became drummer in the Benny Goodman Quartet for concerts in 1982.^[3] He appeared in the 1994 film The Statesmen of Jazz as a member of the Statesmen of Jazz.^[3]

Personal life and final years

David Francis died on November 13, 2001, following a stroke, at age 82.^[4]

Discography

As leader

• Latin American Dixieland (MGM, 1954)
• Exploding Drums (Epic, 1959)
• The Beat Behind the Million Sellers (ABC-Paramount, 1960)
• Gettin' in the Groove (Black and Blue, 1979)
• Panama Francis and the Savoy Sultans (Classic Jazz, 1980)

As sideman

With Eddie Barefield

• Eddie Barefield (RCA, 1974)
• The Indestructible E. B. (Famous Door, 1977)

With Tony Bennett

• To My Wonderful One (Columbia, 1960)

With Ray Bryant

• Groove House (Sue, 1963)
• Hot Turkey (Black and Blue, 1979)

With Milt Buckner

• Green Onions (Black and Blue, 1975)
• Midnight Slows Vol 6 (Black and Blue, 1977)

With Solomon Burke

• If You Need Me (Atlantic, 1963)
• King Solomon (Atlantic, 1968)

With Cab Calloway

• Hi De Ho Man (Columbia, 1974)
• Jumpin' Jive (CBS, 1984)

With Arnett Cobb

• Jumpin' at the Woodside (Black and Blue, 1974)
• The Wild Man from Texas (Black and Blue, 1977)
• Keep On Pushin' (Bee Hive, 1984)

With Ray Conniff

• 'S Awful Nice (Columbia, 1958)
• Ray Conniff's Concert in Stereo (CBS, 1970)
• Live in Japan (CBS, 1975)

With Sam Cooke

• My Kind of Blues (RCA Victor, 1961)
• Twistin' the Night Away (RCA Victor, 1962)

With Dion DiMucci

• Runaround Sue (Laurie Records, 1961)

With Earl Hines

• Hines '74 (Black & Blue, 1974)
• Earl Hines at Sundown (Black & Blue, 1974)
• The Dirty Old Men (Black and Blue, 1978)

With John Lee Hooker

• It Serve You Right to Suffer (Impulse! Records, 1966)

With Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry

• A Long Way from Home (Bluesway, 1969)
• I Couldn't Believe My Eyes (Bluesway, 1973)

With Wilson Pickett

• In the Midnight Hour (Atlantic Records, 1965)

With Big Joe Turner

• Singing the Blues (BluesWay, 1967)
• Joe's Back in Town (Black and Blue, 1974)
• Effervescent (Classic Jazz, 1979)

With others

• Red Allen, Jazz at the Metropole Cafe (Bethlehem, 1955)
• Casey Anderson, The Bag I'm In (Atco, 1962)
• Cat Anderson, Cat on a Hot Tin Horn (Mercury, 1958)
• Doc Bagby, A Place in the Sun (Current, 1967)
• Mickey Baker, The Blues and Me (Black and Blue, 1974)
• Emmett Berry, Buddy Tate, Beauty and the Blues (Columbia, 1960)
• Big Maybelle, Gabbin' Blues and Other Big Hits (Epic, 1968)
• Eubie Blake, The Marches I Played on the Old Ragtime Piano (20th Fox, 1960)
• Nappy Brown, Don't Be Angry! (Savoy, 1984)
• James Brown, Please Please Please (King, 1958)
• Oscar Brown, Sin & Soul (Columbia, 1960)
• Gene Conners, Coming Home (Belter, 1978)
• Dorothy Donegan, The Many Faces of Dorothy Donegan (Mahogany, 1975)
• Roy Eldridge, At the Arcadia Ballroom Broadway New York City 1939 (Musidisc, 1975)
• Roy Gaines, Superman (Black and Blue, 1975)
• Dizzy Gillespie, The Melody Lingers On (Limelight, 1966)
• Lloyd Glenn, Old Time Shuffle (Black and Blue, 1976)
• Tiny Grimes, Some Groovy Fours (Black and Blue, 1974)
• Lionel Hampton, At Newport '78 (Timeless, 1980)
• Woody Herman, Hey! Heard the Herd? (Verve, 1963)
• Eddie Heywood, Eddie Heywood at the Piano (Mercury, 1960)
• Claude Hopkins, Music of the Early Jazz Dances (20th Fox, 1958)
• Dick Hyman, Traditional Jazz Piano (Project 3, 1973)
• Johnny Letman, The Many Angles of John Letman (Bethlehem, 1960)
• Little Willie John, Fever (Regency, 1956)
• Odetta, Sometimes I Feel Like Cryin' (RCA Victor, 1962)
• Andrew Odom, Farther on Down the Road (Bluesway, 1973)
• Red Prysock, Swing Softly Red (Mercury, 1961)
• Louisiana Red, Lowdown Back Porch Blues (Lowdown Back Porch, 1963)
• Charlie Shavers, Horn o' Plenty (Bethlehem, 1954)
• Carrie Smith, Do Your Duty (Black and Blue, 1976)
• David T. Walker, Going Up! (Revue, 1969)
• Dick Wellstood, Fats Waller Revisited (Classic Jazz, 1975)
• Jimmy Witherspoon, Sing the Blues with Panama Francis and the Savoy Sultans (Muse, 1983)

Singles

Year	Title	Artist	Date	U.S. chart	R&B chart	UK chart	Producer	Notes
1955	"Only You (And You Alone)"	The Platters	April 26	5	1	18		Buck Ram plays piano
1955	"The Great Pretender"	The Platters		1	1	5	Buck Ram
1956	"I Put a Spell On You"	Screaming Jay Hawkins	September 12
1956	"My Prayer"	The Platters		1	22	4	Buck Ram
1958	"Splish Splash"	Bobby Darin	May 19	3	1	28
1958	"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"	The Platters		1	3	1	Buck Ram
1960	"Lullabye"	The Chevrons	July 20
1959	"What a Diff'rence a Day Made"[6]	Dinah Washington	February 19	8	4			with the Belford Hendricks Orchestra
1959	"I Cried a Tear"[7]	LaVern Baker		6	2		Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler
1961	"Runaround Sue"[8]	Dion		4	11	11	Gene Schwartz, Dion	backing vocals by the Del Satins
1962	"Big Girls Don't Cry"	The Four Seasons	October	1	1	13	Bob Crewe
1962	"Prisoner of Love"	James Brown	December 17	18	6		James Brown, Hal Neely
1963	"Walk Like a Man"	The Four Seasons	January 1962	1	3	12	Bob Crewe