A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Franklin was raised by his aunt, Gertrude, having been abandoned as a baby by his mother.[4] Gertrude recycled aluminum cans to raise money for Kirk to take piano lessons from the age of four. Kirk excelled and was able to read and write music while also playing by ear.[citation needed]
At the age of seven, Franklin received his first contract which his aunt turned down.[5] He did join the church choir and became music director of the Mt. Rose Baptist Church adult choir at 11 years of age.[6]
In his teenage years, Franklin rebelled against his strict religious upbringing, and in an attempt to keep him out of trouble, his grandmother arranged an audition for him at a professional youth conservatory associated with a local university. He was accepted, but later he had to deal with a girlfriend's pregnancy and his eventual expulsion from school for bad behavior.[7]
Franklin studied music with Jewell Kelly and the Singing Chaparrals at Oscar Dean Wyatt High School. He continued under her tutelage and ultimately became the pianist for the choir.[7]
When he was aged 15 he witnessed the death of a friend by shooting,[8][9] after which Franklin returned to the church, where he again directed the choir. He also co-founded a gospel group, The Humble Hearts, which recorded one of Franklin's compositions and got the attention of gospel music legend Milton Biggham, musical director of the Georgia Mass Choir. Impressed, Biggham enlisted him to lead the DFW Mass Choir in a recording of Franklin's song "Every Day with Jesus". This led to Biggham hiring Franklin, just 20 years old at the time, to lead the choir at the 1990 Gospel Music Workshop of America Convention, an industry gathering.[5]
Career
With groups (1992–2000)
Franklin in 1998
In 1992, Franklin organized "The Family", which was a 17-voice choir, formed from neighborhood friends and associates.[8] In 1992, Vicki Mack-Lataillade, the co-founder of fledgling GospoCentric Records label, heard one of their demo tapes and was so impressed she immediately signed up Kirk & The Family to a recording contract.[10]
In 1993, the group, now known as "Kirk Franklin & The Family", released their debut album, Kirk Franklin & The Family.[11] It spent almost two years on the gospel music charts and charted on the R&B charts, eventually earning platinum sales status. It remained at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart for 42 weeks. It was only the third gospel music album to sell over a million units after Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace and BeBe & CeCe Winans' Addictive Love.[citation needed]
In 1996, Franklin's song "Joy" was recorded by Whitney Houston and the Georgia Mass Choir. With production by Houston and Mervyn Warren, the composition was included on the best-selling gospel album of all time, soundtrack to The Preacher's Wife.
GospoCentric's new sub-label, B'Rite, in partnership with Interscope Records brought another album in 1997, a collaboration with the vocal ensemble God's Property, aptly named God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation. The lead single, "Stomp", featuring Cheryl "Salt" James (of Salt-N-Pepa), was a crossover hit, enjoying heavy rotation on MTV and other music channels and charting at No. 1 on the R&B Singles Airplay chart for two weeks, even making it into the Top 40. God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation was No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for five weeks, No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and would go on to be certified 3× platinum by the RIAA. It also brought Franklin another Grammy for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album, as well as three Grammy nominations.
On November 2, 1998, God's Property sued Franklin. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that Franklin induced God's Property founder Linda Searight into signing an "onerous and one-sided" contract with B-Rite Music.[citation needed]
The Nu Nation Project was released in 1998.[12] The first single, "Lean on Me", produced by Franklin and pop producer Dan Shea, featured several mainstream artists, including R. Kelly, Mary J. Blige and Bono of U2 together with Crystal Lewis and The Family. "Lean on Me" and the second single "Revolution" (featuring Rodney Jerkins) were considerable hits, and the album contained a version of a Bill Withers song "Gonna Be a Lovely Day". The Nu Nation Project went on to top the Billboard Contemporary Christian Albums chart for 23 weeks and the Billboard Gospel Albums chart for 49 weeks, and brought Franklin his third Grammy.
In 2000, members of The Family filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit for royalties for their work on The Nu Nation Project against Franklin and GospoCentric Records.[9] This saw the end of the "Kirk Franklin & The Family" records, as Franklin continued with his newer group One Nation Crew, releasing Kirk Franklin Presents 1NC. The album was recorded prior to the lawsuit.
On January 16, 2010, at the 25th Annual Stellar Awards show taping in Nashville, Tennessee, Kirk Franklin & The Family reunited briefly on stage to perform songs made popular by them in the 1990s.[citation needed]
In 2004, Franklin launched a new label called Fo Yo Soul Entertainment and had signed a new distribution deal with Zomba Label Group.[13][14]
On October 4, 2005, Hero was released in the United States. The album was certified Gold on December2,2005(2005-12-02), and Platinum on December14,2006(2006-12-14), by the Recording Industry Association of America.[15] It reached No. 1 on both the Billboard Top Christian and Top Gospel albums. The first single, "Looking for You", was a hit, as was the follow-up "Imagine Me", which made it onto the R&B charts. At the 2007 Grammy Awards, Franklin won two Grammys for Hero. Additionally, Hero was the 2007 Stellar Awards CD of the Year.[16]
In 2005, Franklin appeared with his wife on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss how he ended his pornography addiction.[20] In 2010, he published The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life's Storms, a book in which he recounts the family difficulties experienced during his childhood, and how he got out of a sexually active life and an addiction to pornography.[21]
In 2013, Franklin began signing artists onto his label, Fo Yo Soul Recordings, which became an imprint with RCA Records, and he has signed acts such as The Walls Group and artists like Tasha Page-Lockhart.[24] These two artists received ten Stellar Award nominations at the 30th Stellar Awards.[24] The Walls Group won seven awards, while Page-Lockhart won three of her own, and Franklin won two more for his label.[24]
In September 2015, Franklin announced his twelfth studio album, Losing My Religion, which was released on November 13, 2015. The first single off the album, "Wanna Be Happy?", was released on August 28, 2015.[25][26][27] It was at this point that Vinson Cunningham referred to him as a hype man when writing for the New Yorker.[28]
Franklin contributed to Tori Kelly's Hiding Place album, released September 14, 2018. They had intended to collaborate on one song, but it turned into a larger project.[29]
On January 25, 2019, Franklin released his single "Love Theory" and official music video for the song. "Love Theory" served the first single from his 13th studio album, Long Live Love.[30][31] Franklin released his second single, "Just for Me", in April 2019.[citation needed] His third single, "OK", was released in May 2019.[citation needed]Long Live Love was released on May 31.[citation needed]
In February 2019, it was announced that BET's gospel music reality competition, Sunday Best would return from a four-year hiatus. Franklin will reprise his role as host.[32]
After Trinity Broadcasting Network aired the 2019 GMA Dove Awards on October 20, 2019, Franklin commented that his acceptance speech was edited to remove comments he made in relation to the killing of Atatiana Jefferson by a police officer. He stated that he was boycotting the award show going forward as it was not the first time they had edited his acceptance speech to remove "reflections on police violence against Black Americans". GMA president, Jackie Patillo, apologized to Franklin and GMA made an unedited version of the speech available but stated that it was an unintentional action and that they were attempting to reduce the running time to meet a two-hour time-slot. Several other artists supported Franklin's boycott.[33][34]
On October 14, 2023, Franklin released his thirteenth studio album, Father's Day.
Personal life
Franklin with his wife in 2006
On January 20, 1996, Franklin married long-time friend Tammy Collins.[5] When they wed, they each had one child from previous relationships. As a couple, they have two children together.
In November 1996, Franklin had a near death experience after accidentally falling from a stage into an orchestra pit during a concert in Memphis, he had suffered a head injury which had left him in critical condition before making a full recovery.[37][38][39][40]
In March 2021, Franklin's oldest son, Kerrion, released an audio recording of a private conversation between him and his father in which both can be heard using profanities. Franklin subsequently apologized to his fans and followers.[41]
In 2023, Franklin met his biological father Richard Hubbard for the first time and reconciled with his son Kerrion in his documentary film Father's Day: A Kirk Franklin Story.[42]
Priscilla Marie Winans Love, known professionally as CeCe Winans, is an American gospel singer who has garnered 15 Grammy Awards, the most for any female gospel singer; 31 GMA Dove Awards, 19 Stellar Awards, 7 NAACP Image Awards, 4 Billboard Music Award along with many other awards and honors to her credit including being one of the inaugural inductees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. Winans is the best-selling and most awarded female gospel singer of all time, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Music City Walk of Fame.
The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group originally consisting of five sisters: Jacky Clark Chisholm, Denise "Niecy" Clark-Bradford, Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark, Dorinda Clark-Cole, and Karen Clark Sheard. The Clark Sisters are the daughters of gospel musician and choral director Dr. Mattie Moss Clark. They are credited for helping to bring gospel music to the mainstream and are considered pioneers of contemporary gospel.
Yolanda Yvette Adams is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albums worldwide. In addition to achieving multi-platinum status, she has won four Grammy Awards, four Dove Awards, five BET Awards, six NAACP Image Awards, six Soul Train Music Awards, two BMI Awards and sixteen Stellar Awards. She is the first Gospel artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song. She is also the first Gospel artist to be awarded an American Music Award.
BeBe & CeCe Winans are an American gospel/R&B music brother and sister duo. BeBe and CeCe Winans are the seventh and eighth of the Winans family's ten children, most of whom have had gospel music careers. Together, they have received several awards, including three Grammys.
Donald Andrew McClurkin Jr. is an American gospel singer and minister. He has won three Grammy Awards, ten Stellar Awards, two BET Awards, two Soul Train Awards, one Dove Award and one NAACP Image Awards. He is one of the top selling gospel artists, selling over 13 million albums. Variety dubbed McClurkin as a "Reigning King of Urban Gospel".
Vickie Winans is an American gospel singer.
Tamela Jean Mann is an American gospel singer and actress. She began her career as a singer with the gospel group Kirk Franklin and the Family. Mann was a primary vocalist on several tracks while with Franklin's group, including "Now Behold the Lamb", and "Lean on Me", the latter of which also included Mary J. Blige, Crystal Lewis, R Kelly and Bono. She began her solo career by releasing the albums Gotta Keep Movin (2005), and The Master Plan (2009).
God's Property was a gospel choir known for its collaborations with Kirk Franklin, and other recording artists.
Martha Denise Munizzi is an American Christian music singer, songwriter, author, and pastor.
Donald Lawrence is an American gospel music songwriter, record producer and artist. He is best known for his Grammy Award-nominated songs "The Blessing of Abraham" and "Encourage Yourself".
The Nu Nation Project is the fifth studio album by Kirk Franklin. It is his final album in collaboration with The Family and God's Property, the first to feature One Nation Crew, and the only one to feature Nu Nation. Its sequel entitled "Something About the Name Jesus, Pt. 2" featuring Rance Allen, Marvin Winans, John P. Kee & Isaac Carree is on his 2011 album, Hello Fear. It was released on September 22, 1998, it debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 105,000 units and was certified RIAA double platinum in March 2000 after selling 2 million copies in the US. The album won the 1999 Grammy Award for "Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album". With sales of 3 million units, it is one of the best-selling gospel albums of all time.
This is the discography of American gospel artist Kirk Franklin. In total, Franklin has won 20 Grammy Awards, 13 Dove Awards and 28 Stellar Awards. Franklin is the best-selling contemporary gospel artist of the SoundScan era and one of the best-selling gospel artists of all-time, with total sales exceeding 15 million, 14.6 of which are certified by the Recording Industry Association of America.
A Stellar Award is an award presented by SAGMA to recognize achievements in the gospel music industry. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent gospel artists, and the presentation of those awards that have a more popular interest. The Stellars are the first of the Big Two major gospel music awards held annually.
Ricky Rydell Dillard is an American gospel musician. He started his music career, in 1987, as a Chicago house musician. His first Christian music album was Promise, by Muscle Shoals Records. His next album, A Holy Ghost Take-Over, was released in 1993 by Malaco Records. The subsequent album, Hallelujah, was released by them in 1995. Crystal Spring Records released, 1996's Work It Out, 2000's No Limit, and Unplugged in 2004. With EMI Gospel, he released, 7th Episode, that came out in 2007. He released, Keep Living, with Light Records in 2011. His next release, Amazing, came out in 2014 with Entertainment One Music.
Jonathan Caleb McReynolds is a Grammy-winning American gospel musician. He began his music career in 2012 with the release of Life Music via Entertainment One Music. He has had two No. 1 Billboard Gospel Albums since with Life Music: Stage Two (2015) and Make Room (2018), fifteen Stellar Awards, four GMA Dove Awards and five Grammy Award nominations in addition to his win in 2021.
Koryn Mattanah Hawthorne is an American contemporary Christian music and gospel singer. Hawthorne was a finalist in season 8 of NBC's singing competition The Voice, at the age of 17, as a member on Pharrell Williams's team. After placing fourth on the show, Hawthorne got signed to RCA Inspiration, a division of Sony Music dedicated to gospel music recordings. Her debut studio album, Unstoppable, was released on July 13, 2018, and earned her multiple awards nominations, including two Grammy nominations.
"Lean on Me" is a song by American gospel artist Kirk Franklin. Released in 1998, the song greatly helped ascend Kirk Franklin's album The Nu Nation Project. The Nu Nation Project went on to top the Billboard Contemporary Christian Albums chart for 23 weeks and the Billboard Gospel Albums chart for 49 weeks, and brought Franklin his third Grammy.
Long Live Love is the twelfth studio album by American musician Kirk Franklin. RCA Inspiration, a division of RCA Records, alongside Fo Yo Soul Recordings released the album on May 31, 2019. It debuted at number-one on the US Top Gospel Albums chart, becoming his 13th release to top the chart, with 20,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week. With this, Franklin became the first artist to simultaneously top all five Billboard gospel charts: Top Gospel Albums, Hot Gospel Songs, Gospel Airplay, Gospel Streaming Songs and Gospel Digital Song Sales.
Maverick City Music is an American contemporary Christian worship music collective founded by Norman Gyamfi and Jonathan Jay originating from Atlanta.
↑ National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Kirk FranklinArchived April 14, 2021, at the Wayback Machine , grammy.com, USA, retrieved December 5, 2020
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