Franklin, Royce 2013-03-07
This interview features Royce Franklin. Franklin discusses guitar and fiddle music and the various musicians he has worked with during his time in music. Franklin also talks about fiddle contests and his involvement with the contests, particularly in Weiser, Idaho
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Royce Franklin
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: March 07, 2013
Location:
Interviewer: Andy Wilkinson
Length: 02:06:01
Abstract
Life, Lost his vision so he can’t read or drive anymore, Born March 28, 1930, Born in Dozier, TX, Came to Whitewright and Bells, Texas after dad moved, They’ve been married since 1948, They went to the same school, They got married in Denison on May 1, 1948, Came to Ft. Worth, He was in the Air Force doing communication, He went over to Japan and she stayed here, Stationed in Tokyo, It was during the occupation after WWII, Worked right by the building that broadcasted propaganda, Went to work at General Dynamics for 11 years as a mechanics, Then went to Dallas worked for another 30 years, Retired in 1995, Went to Mesquite, Nevada, Joined many fiddling contest, Started playing guitar at 7 years old, Played for a year and a half with Eddy Miller and the Oklahomans, Played the Bass Fiddle, Used to play with his dad when he was small, Brother plays mandolin, guitar, and bass fiddle, Brothers’ name is Ray Franklin, He spent about 3 years at fiddle camp teaching fiddle, Wayne Glasson was one of the best guitarist he ever met, Part II, Carl Hopkins, Wife won a guitar and fiddle contest through a raffle ticket, Played with Joey and the Clavey sisters and won everything they entered, Most fiddle players can sing, Fiddlers can hear the harmonies better than most, Joey is a very good fiddler, Jimmy played bass fiddle, Bubba Hopkins turned out to be a great fiddler, His wife plays guitar, Mostly played in competitions, Did some western swing with some bands, Royce played at the Grapevine Opry with Vernon Solomon, Played at six flags also with Red Stiegel, Red was fearless, Their granddaughters name is Jordan, She was a state champion fiddler, She is married to a fiddler, Name now is Jordan Bankston, They live in Alvarado, She graduated from Tarleton College, Works for Fidelity Investments, She sounds just like Royce’s father, Her husband is a freelance fiddler, Don’t jiggle the bow, His little brother uses a tooth pick while he plays, Father taught him 3 or 4 chords and picked the rest up over the years, You have to follow the fiddle, His brother used to play only fiddle but now he plays guitar too, Jimmy Don was one of the best fiddlers ever, Larry Franklin, Cooter Brown, Larry quit and went to Nashville, He’s still playing with the Time Hoppers, Made a CD out of Glen Rose, Located at Happy Hills Farm, Orville Burns fiddler out of Oklahoma, He used to fiddle with Royce’s father, Met him in Arlington, He was a good friend for a long time, Played classical fiddle too, Dick Barrett, All the people he are naming are people that can really play, Jason Christ, Carl Hopkins, EJ Hopkins, EJ lives in humble, He started the Texas Fiddlers Associations, He still plays, A lot of the younger kids are really good, Matt Hartz, Danita Hartz, A lot of them came from Weezer, He has a lot of tapes from his younger years, They have a Turn Table, A lot of young fiddlers learn it mechanically, They don’t really know the chords, In 2003 his bother and he were put into the Hallettsville Hall of Fame, First guitarist to ever be put in it, Rich isn’t afraid of changes on the guitar, Trying to play second to someone is hard, Kids love fiddling, Mark O’Connor started out with Benny Thompson, Mark lived with him, Now he writes music for movies, Randy and Wes are slang fiddlers, If you play western swing for a while you lose your break down, Tennessee Wagner is one of the hardest fiddle songs to play correctly, Harder to cross from competing to playing live, He has a lot of Terry Morris things, Had Johnny Gimble as a guest fiddler, Have a lot of albums around that he recorded but he didn’t label many of them, His mother was one of the best fiddle judges in his opinion, Good friends with Brian Jimmerson whose head of the Fiddlers Association, Made an Album with Jim Bay, His Grandfather was a fiddler also, His father learned how to play on a tin fiddle, Grandfather wouldn’t let his father use his fiddle, His father learned strictly by ear, After the war someone brought a fiddle back from Germany, Their daughter lives in Henrietta, Guy sold the one from Germany for $4000 but worth more, Jordan used a remade fiddle from her uncle to win the contest, Larry has a whole house full of guitars and fiddles, Al Winters is a fiddle maker around Houston, At fiddle camp a little girl from California taught them a new song, Granddaughter named Fallon plays, sings and writes music, They have a son who’s made 2 guitars, They have a Hawaiian guitar, Have a guitar worth over $10,000, Mark Cisneros is a really good guitar repairman, Hasn’t driven his motor home in the while because his vision is bad, Wife’s name is Lois, Burden Plumbing, Played in a contest with 90 people, Drove his truck for 34 years everyday, His granddaughter plays gigs all over the state and she’s very good, Taylor their other daughter is more of a soccer player, Fiddle is not an easy thing to pick up, Joey was really strict, His way or the high way, Jordan didn’t like learning from him, Scott Hunt, Married again with grown children, Dad was a good guitar player but cut his fingers off, Know lots of people who have cut off their fingers, Royce’s wife was born 9/3/1931
Access Information
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Recording Format Notes:
Transcript: Transcript available on Dspace
https://swco-ir.tdl.org/handle/10605/358646
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