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Product Description "Stewart Francke is the the best songwriter I've heard in 20 years.' - Mick Taylor, legendary guitarist & former member of The Rolling Stones. "Thank God for Stewart Francke. Thank God for his feeling, healing music, for the sweetness of his soul, the sincerity of his songs, the strength of his vision. Motor City Serenade is enriching, nourishing music - music as faith, music as celebration, music whose source is clear and joyful love." - David Ritz, author of Ray, the Ray Charles Story and Divided Soul: The Marvin Gaye Story Motor City Serenade is the most important blue eyed soul record in a musical generation.... Standing courageously at the intersection of rock and soul music, influenced equally by Marvin Gaye and Brian Wilson, Stewart Francke possesses all the tools: A sweet voice, a vision that's grand without being grandiose and undying love of sound for it's own sake, and an equally passionate engagement with everyday life and the people who live it. This music isn't classic anything only because, like every real artist, Francke takes the world as he knows it and moves on his own course. " - Dave Marsh, America's most widely read music writer & Bruce Springsteen biographer. STEWART FRANCKE BIO With hard work, great songwriting and soulful singing, Stewart Francke has found success as an independent act in the rough & tumble music business. He's made ten highly praised cds, the most recent being Motor City Serenade, released in 2005 by the UK R&B label Zane. Much of the CD was recorded with the legendary Motown session band the Funk Brothers. He's licensed songs to TV (Melrose Place, MTV's Real World, various daytime shows), for image advertising (GM, Ford, National Cancer Association) and documentaries. Building his devoted audience nearly one person at a time, Stewart's now known as one of the most exciting live acts performing today, playing his own headlining shows as well as support touring with the likes of Sheryl Crow, Warren Zevon, Steve Earle, Chris Isaak, Robert Cray, Shawn Colvin, Hall & Oates, Michael McDonald, Stevie Winwood, Eddie Money, Chicago, & many others. His music has won numerous awards: nine Detroit music awards, Hour Detroit most popular musician 2002-2004, four straight ASCAP writer's awards-and a highly prestigious Point of Light Award for his work in cancer care. The Stewart Francke Leukemia Foundation was also presented the prestigious Partnership In Humanity Award by the Detroit Newspapers, and he was awarded a Creative Artist Grant by Artserve Michigan in 2003. A leukemia and bone marrow transplant survivor of 7 years, Francke often plays charity fundraisers or donates his time to cancer support and fund raising. To date the Stewart Francke Leukemia Foundation has raised more than $200,000, which has been given to organizations such as Karmanos Cancer Institute, the Children's Leukemia Foundation, The National Bone Marrow Transplant Link, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Gilda's Club. The priority mission of the foundation is to fund drives and increase marrow donation in minority communities Now performing exclusively with the renowned Detroit R&B/Soul band Regular Boys, Francke's show is exciting, smart, fun, full of history and loaded with a soulful vibe that makes any night pure magic. Prior to working full time as a songwriter and musician, Stewart was a Contributing Editor to Detroit's Metro Times, writing on subjects from the advent of Techno to the history of Detroit soul music. His work at the paper gave him the opportunity to interview many of his favorite musicians, from Sting to Johnny Cash to George Clinton. A book of his collected song lyrics and writing, titled Between The Ground & God: Lyrics, Essays and Interviews, 1990-2005, was published in 2005 by Ridgeway Press. Stewart and his family live in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. A Few Reviews Of Motor City Serenade : UK The Independent Review Stewart Francke **** (4 stars) Motor City Serenade, ZANE RECORDS 01 April 2005 Like Remy Shand, Stewart Francke is a blue-eyed soul boy who has steeped himself so thoroughly in the details of his chosen obsession - in his case, the classic soul sound of his hometown Detroit - that his best work could almost pass as authentic. It helps if you have access to Motown's old Funk Brothers studio crew, as Francke does on a couple of cuts here, notably the title track. But there's a generosity of spirit and articulate social conscience in operation that sit as well on his shoulders as they did on those of Marvin, Curtis and Stevie, particularly on the protest-soul numbers such as 'American Twilights' and the three-part suite that concludes the album, starting with 'From Where Shall Comfort Come': 'Let the four winds blow from the White House to the slum/ Good times are vanity when they're only good to some,' sings Francke. Apart from the Southside Johnny-style R&B of 'Upon Seeing Simone' and the melancholy 'Better Get to Know Your Broken Heart', the album marshalls the requisite clavinet, electric piano, organ, strings, horns and wah-wah guitar with consummate skill, building up a meticulous Motown repro sound best exemplified by 'Motor City Serenade' itself, which celebrates Detroit's multi-faceted musical heritage. By Andy Gill London Times, UK April 02, 2005 Soul Stewart Francke **** (4 stars) Motor City Serenade (Zane) This singer-songwriter from Detroit stands out from the crowd because of his soul-hardened voice and collection of thoughtful, user-friendly songs. His debt to his home town is revealed in the title track, which pays tribute to a raft of Motor City artists (see feature, page 18), including Marvin Gaye and Nolan Strong. And just to reinforce the feeling, he is backed on that track by Motown's original Funk Brothers, including Jack Ashford and Joe Hunter. Another Detroit legend, Mitch Ryder, also lends vocal support on the 13 numbers that vary from the deft late-night stylings of Deep Soul Kiss to the altogether more funky Prowlin'. An artist who has battled leukaemia, Francke has a cutting edge that has already made his name in his native Michigan. With luck, he could do the same over here. Playboy "Stewart Francke's Motor City Serenade is the most important blue-eyed soul record in a musical generation... The sound scape is based on his reading of Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, and Gamble/Huff records that defined the border between soul and funk, right down to the wah-wah guitars. The topic is our culture's most enduring: What happens when fear is steeped in racism. With help from the excellent gospel group Commissioned, Francke finds a voice that let's him ask the right questions... Motor City Serenade doesn't toy with amateur deep soul. Instead, it borrows quite explicitly from the soul of the early '70s: the perfect string confections of Barry White, the sophisticated horn, rhythm and vocal arrangements of Stevie Wonder and Maurice White. It's also explicit in attempting to recapture that music's social and political atmosphere. As Craig Werner writes in the liner notes, this music comes from a place 'where you catch glimpses of what the seventies might have become if we'd lived up to their long-forgotten promise.' Francke is not indulging nostalgia for a polyester past; he's using abandoned musical resources to make a statement about the world we live in right now. He casts his own challenge - 'All this wasting of time / when we should be writing our story / we're perfecting our lines... when we could be touching the glory.' He meets it, too. Funny thing is, Francke on his previous five albums made some of the blondest music I know. His apparent influences were the Beatles and Beach Boys, Springsteen and Bob Seger. His occasional work with the greatest of all blue-eyed soul man, Mitch Ryder seemed just a Detroit boy's way of honoring roots. Somehow there's nothing affected about what Francke does. Among his collaborators is the fine gospel-hip-hop group, Commissioned, and his ab Review "Francke's finest songs reveal lives at stake in intimate tales where men and women struggle to understand each other. " -- --- David Cantwell, No Depression, March 2002"Stewart Francke's What We Talk of... is the most important blue-eyed soul record in a musical generation." -- Dave Marsh, Playboy,CRITICS: "WHEEL OF LIFE is music as faith, music as celebration, music whose source is clear and joyful love." -- -- David Ritz, author of Divided Soul: The Marvin Gaye Story and Grammy winning writer, November, 2002. About the Artist notes on Stewart Francke and his songs: Recently awarded 2002 Creative Artists Grant from Artserve Michigan. First hit single, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," was used as an episode theme for the popular TV show Melrose Place. "American Twilights" licensed by MTV for Undercover program in 2002. Three songs from the new Wheel of Life licensed for CBS drama "Hack." Toured and performed in support of acts as diverse as Sheryl Crow, Warren Zevon, Stevie Winwood, Steve Earle, Eddie Money, John Hiatt, Huey Lewis & The News, Shawn Colvin, Kenny Loggins, Hootie & The Blowfish, Chicago, Hall & Oates and Chuck Berry. Four time winner of the Detroit Music Awards: Best Rock Artist, Best Songwriter, 1997-2002. Recently voted Outstanding Pop Act in 2002 DMA. Voted Most Popular Musician in Best of Detroit poll in Hour Detroit Mag. Seven critically acclaimed albums all produced for less than $15,000 each. Nearly 25,000 records sold. Leukemia & Bone marrow transplant survivor. Stewart Francke Leukemia Foundation has raised and donated $150,000 to various charities. In the spring of 2001 Stewart was given Point Of Light award for his personal work in hospitals and cancer clinics. In March of 2001 the Stewart Francke Leukemia Foundation was presented the Partnership In Humanity Award by the Detroit Newspapers. BIO Since releasing his first album in 1995, Stewart Francke has quietly created a body of work both spiritual in tone and remarkable in its emotional breadth. Gathering an unmatched critical reputation over 7 albums in as many years, it's been said that Francke's work is on par with that of today's finest songwriters. A bone marrow transplant and leukemia survivor, Stewart was recognized in 2001 by the Points Of Light Foundation for his personal work in cancer patient support. His first album, Where The River Meets The Bay (1995), ontained the hit single, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," later used as an episode theme for the popular TV show Melrose Place. In the ensuing six albums there were other regional hits, including a duet with Detroit soul legend Mitch Ryder. Although he's performed on bills with the likes of Sheryl Crow, Stevie Winwood, Steve Earle, Eddie Money, Huey Lewis & The News, Shawn Colvin, Hootie & The Blowfish, Kenny Loggins, Chicago, Hall & Oates and Chuck Berry, Stewart regards the night he was invited to perform his own compositions with the Saginaw Symphony in his hometown of Saginaw, Michigan as a thrill second to none. Over the last four years Stewart has won numerous Detroit Music Awards, including Best Artist, Best Songwriter, Best Album and a Special Achievement Award for his leukemia foundation. He was voted Outstanding pop artist in the 2002 awards. In a recent Best of Detroit poll in Hour Magazine, he was voted most popular musician. In June of 1998 Stewart was diagnosed with Leukemia. He underwent a successful stem cell transplant at Karmanos Cancer Institute in October of 1998, after first helping to establish the Stewart Francke Leukemia Foundation. Before disbanding in 2002 The SFLF helped those having trouble finding a bone marrow match or merely living with the disease. To date nearly $150,000 has been raised and nearly $100,0 00 has been given to organizations such as Karmanos, the Children's Leukemia Foundation and Gilda's Club. More importantly, Stewart has raised awareness about bone marrow based disease to a new generation. He lives outside of Detroit with his wife, Julia, and son and daughter. Blue Boundary Records P.O.248 568.9091 See more