Panama Francis has had a long and versatile career, equally at home in swing and R&B sessions. Playing for church revival meetings were among his earliest gigs and he also gigged with George Kelly's group, the Cavaliers, in Florida (1934-1938) before moving to New York. The following year he worked with Roy Eldridge (making his recording debut) and this was followed by a long period at the Savoy with the Lucky Millinder big band (1940-1946) and an association with Cab Calloway (1947-1952). Francis then became a busy studio drummer, performing anonymously on many pop and rock & roll records.
Buy CD
© 2009
