http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/p ... 20355/1006
Teachers traverse world of music
By WILFORD S. SHAMLIN
Courier-Post Staff
Three South Jersey teachers have created a video of their travels around the world seeking to convince famous musicians to perform on a tribute album for a songwriting friend.
Gary Joseph, Mick McCleery and Mike Nicholson, all 1987 graduates of Haddon Heights High School, spent the summer traveling to concert venues, where they would talk with anyone and everyone who might be able to get them a meeting with a musician.
Their efforts have paid off. They met with Bruce Springsteen in Vancouver for one minute, after missing him in Philadelphia and Seattle. They ran into Aaron Neville's former tour manager, who led them to the star at a hotel in Bay Saint Louis, Miss., six days before Hurricane Katrina roared through.
Bryan Adams wound up inviting the trio into his house in London and gave a 45-minute interview. It took about a week to reach Rod Stewart backstage in Barcelona, Spain, just hours after the terrorist attack.
They also rendezvoused with Elvis Costello and Steve Earle.
All were asked to remake songs by Billy Franks, 49, a relatively unknown artist based in London.
Joseph and Nicholson, both of Philadelphia, and McCleery, of Haddon Heights, are television production teachers. Joseph teaches at Hammonton High School, Nicholson works at Delsea High School in Franklinville and McCleery works at Gloucester County Institute of Technology in Deptford.
"You never know who you're talking to," Joseph said. "What we learned is that people love to tell what they know. We found so many helpful people along the way."
Their documentary will hit theaters next summer. The trio said that a Grammy-winning producer may help make their dream of a tribute album come true.
They have been friends with Franks for 15 years.
"They would be good or great friends to anyone," Franks said. "I'm fortunate that it happens to be me."
The teachers got financial backing for the project and have spent $70,000 chasing their dream.
They logged more than 111,000 miles by plane, visited 18 airports, took 148 taxi cab rides and journeyed hundreds miles more by train and rental car.
"Not only will we not forget it, we have a documentary of it," Nicholson said.
Reach Wilford S. Shamlin at (856) 251-3346 or wsham lin@courierpostonline.com
Published: September 22. 2005 6:00AM
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see
http://www.tributethis.com/index.dws?PH ... 6c9d14a8f8
http://www.billyfranks.com/
Elvis contributes to Billy Franks tribute album/film ?
Elvis contributes to Billy Franks tribute album/film ?
Last edited by johnfoyle on Wed Mar 21, 2012 8:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Elvis contributes to Billy Franks tribute album
http://www.pressreleasecentre.com/billy ... mer-42340/
Billy Franks’ New Book A Far Cry from Sunset to be released This Summer
by News Desk
Mar 21st, 2012
It recalls the adventures of Billy & three friends from the U.S as they travel the world to ask ten of the planets best known singers to appear on a tribute album to an unknown songwriter. That unknown songwriter was Billy Franks himself.
Their quarry? – Byran Adams, Jon Bon Jovi, Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, Huey Lewis, Paul McCartney, Aaron Neville, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart.
As they travelled across two continents, they filmed their quest. It is now a 90 minute documentary called Tribute This!
Mick McCleery, who directed the film had this to say, “He has given so much to others through his music. Dedicating ourselves to a project that would honour him was a no brainer on our part.”
Billy’s book, A Far Cry from Sunset, shows us the trials and tribulations of four friends making a documentary of an almost unreachable goal, plus stories from his musical career touring with U2 and REM and others.
It could be this summer’s big read.
For further information contact Francesca Parkin at:
Tel: +44 7985 760 541
press@billyfranks.com
http://www.billyfranks.com
http://billyfranks.com/AFARCRYFROMSUNSET/?p=21
The 10 Artists We Pursued
Posted by Billy Franks
Feb 15th, 2012 in A Far Cry From Sunset
(extract)
Our quest was to find ten artists each to record a song on a tribute album to an unknown artist.
4: Elvis Costello
A production assistant at a festival in Oxford, get’s us in and up close – but we almost blow it!
Given the 2005 time frame this probably refers to the Cornbury Festival appearance that summer.
http://www.tributethis.com/
Brief glimpse of Elvis at 2.00 mins -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCqdGuUc ... r_embedded
Billy Franks’ New Book A Far Cry from Sunset to be released This Summer
by News Desk
Mar 21st, 2012
It recalls the adventures of Billy & three friends from the U.S as they travel the world to ask ten of the planets best known singers to appear on a tribute album to an unknown songwriter. That unknown songwriter was Billy Franks himself.
Their quarry? – Byran Adams, Jon Bon Jovi, Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, Huey Lewis, Paul McCartney, Aaron Neville, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart.
As they travelled across two continents, they filmed their quest. It is now a 90 minute documentary called Tribute This!
Mick McCleery, who directed the film had this to say, “He has given so much to others through his music. Dedicating ourselves to a project that would honour him was a no brainer on our part.”
Billy’s book, A Far Cry from Sunset, shows us the trials and tribulations of four friends making a documentary of an almost unreachable goal, plus stories from his musical career touring with U2 and REM and others.
It could be this summer’s big read.
For further information contact Francesca Parkin at:
Tel: +44 7985 760 541
press@billyfranks.com
http://www.billyfranks.com
http://billyfranks.com/AFARCRYFROMSUNSET/?p=21
The 10 Artists We Pursued
Posted by Billy Franks
Feb 15th, 2012 in A Far Cry From Sunset
(extract)
Our quest was to find ten artists each to record a song on a tribute album to an unknown artist.
4: Elvis Costello
A production assistant at a festival in Oxford, get’s us in and up close – but we almost blow it!
Given the 2005 time frame this probably refers to the Cornbury Festival appearance that summer.
http://www.tributethis.com/
Brief glimpse of Elvis at 2.00 mins -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCqdGuUc ... r_embedded
Re: Elvis contributes to Billy Franks tribute album/film
Billy Franks RIP
The film is now up in full on youtube - a full viewing would be needed to see what content might involve Elvis -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_RDiDs6unY
http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/wes ... n-12021484
Family perform at funeral of Fulham musician Billy Franks
The 60-year-old frontman of Faith Brothers was given a send-off to remember when he was laid to rest following his shock death in September
BY GOOLISTAN COOPER
13 OCT 2016
The funeral for the well-known Fulham musician Billy Franks has been held following his sudden death last month .
The singer-songwriter, filmmaker and author, who counted Prince Harry as a friend and fan, was cremated at Putney Vale Cemetery on Wednesday (October 12).
He is best known as the frontman of Faith Brothers, who supported groups such as R.E.M and Boomtown Rats during their 1980s heyday, and for his years playing small and intimate venues across the Capital as a solo artist.
Billy lived and grew up in Fulham Court, and was living close to Charing Cross Hospital when he died on September 20, aged 60. The cause of his death is still unknown.
His niece Rachel Hiron said her uncle would have been proud of the send-off he received.
She said: “It was a beautiful service. There were people that couldn’t fit into the chapel.
“Then a band performed in the chapel, along with his daughters playing the tambourine and percussion to one of Bill’s songs Just. It was lovely.”
Billy’s music continued as family made their way to Broadway Bar and Grill in Fulham , where he had played live.
Rachel continued: “The DJ there knew Bill from when he played there live, and he’d regularly slip in one of Bill’s songs into his playlist.
“We had such a massive party singing and dancing, it was a great night.
“He would’ve been over the moon with that send-off and so proud of how his girls coped.”
Friends and family remembered Billy as a generous man who would always go out of his way to help others, and a JustGiving page set up to help pay for his funeral raised more than £4,500, smashing the £3,000 target.
At the height of the Faith Brothers fame, he appeared on TV shows such as TV-am and Wacaday.
He grew up and lived in Fulham Court, and his early hit of the same name was one of many adored by fans.
Speaking shortly after his death, Rachel said: “He still had a massive following and he was really loved in the area.
“He was a very well liked man, and just everyone really got on with him.”
Among his legion of fans was Prince Harry, who came to see him perform at Shepherd’s Bush Empire a few years ago, and joined Billy at the aftershow party in legendary The Troubadour near Earl’s Court .
As well as his music, Billy was also a gifted writer, who recounted his travels across Europe and America in his autobiographical book A Far Cry from Sunset. This later inspired the film Tribute This! which featured Sir Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams and many more stars.
He loved performing and recently played gigs at the Chelsea Pensioner in Fulham Road.
Family friend Ellie Rashbrook, who set up the JustGiving page, said his sudden death had left a community and fans stunned. She said: “He lived in Fulham Court and one of his greatest hits was Fulham Court. It was about growing up in Fulham; everyone in Fulham knows that song.
“He was such a nice guy and what’s happened is shocking. We are all completely heartbroken.”
The film is now up in full on youtube - a full viewing would be needed to see what content might involve Elvis -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_RDiDs6unY
http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/wes ... n-12021484
Family perform at funeral of Fulham musician Billy Franks
The 60-year-old frontman of Faith Brothers was given a send-off to remember when he was laid to rest following his shock death in September
BY GOOLISTAN COOPER
13 OCT 2016
The funeral for the well-known Fulham musician Billy Franks has been held following his sudden death last month .
The singer-songwriter, filmmaker and author, who counted Prince Harry as a friend and fan, was cremated at Putney Vale Cemetery on Wednesday (October 12).
He is best known as the frontman of Faith Brothers, who supported groups such as R.E.M and Boomtown Rats during their 1980s heyday, and for his years playing small and intimate venues across the Capital as a solo artist.
Billy lived and grew up in Fulham Court, and was living close to Charing Cross Hospital when he died on September 20, aged 60. The cause of his death is still unknown.
His niece Rachel Hiron said her uncle would have been proud of the send-off he received.
She said: “It was a beautiful service. There were people that couldn’t fit into the chapel.
“Then a band performed in the chapel, along with his daughters playing the tambourine and percussion to one of Bill’s songs Just. It was lovely.”
Billy’s music continued as family made their way to Broadway Bar and Grill in Fulham , where he had played live.
Rachel continued: “The DJ there knew Bill from when he played there live, and he’d regularly slip in one of Bill’s songs into his playlist.
“We had such a massive party singing and dancing, it was a great night.
“He would’ve been over the moon with that send-off and so proud of how his girls coped.”
Friends and family remembered Billy as a generous man who would always go out of his way to help others, and a JustGiving page set up to help pay for his funeral raised more than £4,500, smashing the £3,000 target.
At the height of the Faith Brothers fame, he appeared on TV shows such as TV-am and Wacaday.
He grew up and lived in Fulham Court, and his early hit of the same name was one of many adored by fans.
Speaking shortly after his death, Rachel said: “He still had a massive following and he was really loved in the area.
“He was a very well liked man, and just everyone really got on with him.”
Among his legion of fans was Prince Harry, who came to see him perform at Shepherd’s Bush Empire a few years ago, and joined Billy at the aftershow party in legendary The Troubadour near Earl’s Court .
As well as his music, Billy was also a gifted writer, who recounted his travels across Europe and America in his autobiographical book A Far Cry from Sunset. This later inspired the film Tribute This! which featured Sir Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams and many more stars.
He loved performing and recently played gigs at the Chelsea Pensioner in Fulham Road.
Family friend Ellie Rashbrook, who set up the JustGiving page, said his sudden death had left a community and fans stunned. She said: “He lived in Fulham Court and one of his greatest hits was Fulham Court. It was about growing up in Fulham; everyone in Fulham knows that song.
“He was such a nice guy and what’s happened is shocking. We are all completely heartbroken.”