1. What is Michael Franks Net Worth?
Michael Franks is an American singer, songwriter, and musician with a net worth of around $10 million. He has earned his wealth through his successful career in the music industry as a singer-songwriter and performer. He has released numerous studio albums, singles, and compilations over the years that have sold millions of copies worldwide.
Starting in 1972, Michael released his first album entitled “The Art of Tea”, which was a commercial success and went on to sell over 500,000 copies. This led to him signing a recording deal with Warner Bros. Records which lasted from 1975-1981. During this time he released five albums which all achieved varying levels of success commercially and critically. His most successful album during this period was “Passionfruit” (1979) which reached the top 30 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US and was certified Gold by the RIAA for selling over 500,000 copies in the US alone.
In 1983 he signed with Reprise Records and released two more albums before signing with Windham Hill Records in 1988 where he stayed until 1995. During this time he released three more albums before signing with Private Music Records in 1996 where he stayed until 2003. During this period he released four more studio albums as well as several compilation albums that featured previously unreleased material from his back catalog.
Michael Franks has continued to record new material throughout his career but has not achieved the same level of commercial success that he had during the 70s and 80s. In 2019 he released his latest album entitled “Time Together” which was met with positive reviews from critics but failed to chart anywhere outside of Japan where it peaked at #76 on the Oricon Album Chart.
2. Michael Franks Early Life
Michael Franks was born on September 18th, 1944 in La Jolla, California. His mother was a concert pianist while his father was an engineer who worked on military aircrafts. At a young age he developed an interest in music and started playing the piano at the age of six. He attended San Diego State University where he studied English literature and creative writing before graduating in 1966.
After college Michael moved to Los Angeles where he began performing at local clubs while also working as a session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt and The Beach Boys among others. It wasn’t until 1972 when he finally got his big break when jazz saxophonist Tom Scott asked him to collaborate on an album called “The Art Of Tea”. The album went on to become a commercial success leading Michael to sign a recording deal with Warner Bros Records later that year which lasted until 1981 when they parted ways due to creative differences between them both musically and personally.
3 Michael Franks Career
Throughout his career Michael has been praised for being able to blend elements of jazz, pop, soul, blues, funk into one unique sound that is often referred to as “smooth jazz” or “contemporary jazz” due to its combination of traditional jazz sounds combined with modern production techniques such as synthesizers or drum machines etc.. He has collaborated extensively with other artists including Burt Bacharach who co-wrote several songs for him throughout their long working relationship together along with Grammy award winning producer Arif Mardin who produced many of Michael’s early records during his time at Warner Bros Records.
He continues to tour regularly around Europe & Japan performing live shows for fans old & new alike & recently announced plans for a new album release sometime later this year although no further details have been confirmed yet.
Despite never achieving mainstream commercial success like some other artists from the same era,Michael Franks’ influence can be heard today in many contemporary jazz & pop artists such as Norah Jones,Jamie Cullum,Diana Krall & many more.His unique blend of musical styles & genres make him one of the most respected musicians within his field & will continue doing so for years to come.