Carol Fran

Carol Fran grew up Lafayette, Louisiana, speaking both English and the Creole French of her parents and grandparents. She taught herself to play on a piano at home and began her musical career at 15 when she went on the road with Joe Lutcher and His Society Cats. During her long career, she has performed with Jimmy Reed, Lee Dorsey, Guitar Slim, Joe Tex, Ray Charles, the Ronettes, Mary Wells and Otis Redding.

In 1957, she had a hit record with a song she had written, “Emmitt Lee,” on the Excello label. The tune exemplified the style that later came to be known as swamp blues, a fusion of traditional Cajun music with New Orleans rhythm and blues ballads, featuring emotional singing and a rocking tempo, often in 6/8 (double waltz) time. Another recording, her 1965 version of Artie Glenn’s “Crying in the Chapel” for the Port label, led to a classic Elvis encounter. Fran’s version was selling well until Elvis’ version was released. She confronted The King in California, saying, “That’s taking bread out of my mouth that you didn’t need.” He promptly wrote her a check for $10,000.

After marrying saxophone player Bob Francois, she billed herself as Carol Fran and performed steadily in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. In the early 1980s, she married Texas blues guitarist Clarence Hollimon and relocated to Houston, where they formed the Hollimon Express. They toured widely in the U.S. and Europe, released three albums and became artists-in-residence, teaching the blues through Texas Folklife Resources.

After her husband’s death in 2000, Fran returned to Louisiana. In 2006, she was named Louisiana Folk Artist of the Year. She suffered a stroke in 2007 but delivered an inspiring performance seven months later at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Also in 2008, she received a Lafayette City-Parish Council Distinguished Citizen Award and was named Outstanding Jazz Vocalist as part of African American History Month. In August 2009, Fran performed at the 7th Annual Bourbon Street Festival in São Paulo Brazil, and in 2012 she received the Slim Harpo Blues Award for Female Legend of the Year.