Stewart Francke

All Music Guide:

Detroit-area musician Stewart Francke -- a blue-eyed soul singer/songwriter and guitarist whose inspirations include classic R&B, garage rock, roots rock, and folk -- has been releasing albums since the early '90s, but was performing long before then. At the age of 19, while the rest of his age group was experimenting with the punk and new wave sounds of the late '70s, the Saginaw-born Francke joined a local blues band as its bassist. The next ten years were spent in bar bands, highlighted by opening gigs for Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Luther Allison. The musician settled down, got married, and worked as a journalist until, in 1995, he released an independent CD called Where the River Meets the Bay, featuring the soulful "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," which was featured in an episode of Melrose Place. Francke continued to release an album each year: Expecting Heroes (1996), House of Lights (1997), and Sunflower Soul Serenade (1998). After he was diagnosed with leukemia, he was encouraged to lend his talents to raising cancer awareness -- a thread that ran through Swimming in Mercury (1999) and What We Talk Of...When We Talk (2000). This productive phase of Francke's career was capped off with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: The Best of Stewart Franke (2001).

As Francke fought leukemia, he continued to write and record; in 2002, he released his seventh studio album, Wheel of Life, and followed it in 2005 with Motor City Serenade, a set backed by Motown's Funk Brothers with a guest appearance from personal hero Mitch Ryder. He beat his disease, but his energy quickly shifted toward his ailing parents, mother-in-law, and father-in-law -- all of whom passed within a four-year period. He also spent time raising his children. His first live album, Alive & Unplugged, was issued in 2008. Heartless World, boasting an appearance from Bruce Springsteen -- as well as assists from Ryder and almost 40 other Detroit musicians -- followed in 2011.

Wikipedia:

Stewart Francke (born September 15, 1958 in Saginaw, Michigan) is a singer/musician/songwriter in Detroit.

His most recent CD, Heartless World (released May 31, 2011) features a guest appearance by Bruce Springsteen. His album, Motor City Serenade, was recorded with the legendary Motown session band The Funk Brothers.

Stewart's music has won numerous awards: nine Detroit music awards, Hour Detroit's most popular musician 2002-2004, four straight ASCAP writer's awards, and the prestigious Point of Light Award for his work in cancer care. The Stewart Francke Leukemia Foundation (SFLF) was also presented the 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 10 years, Francke often plays benefit concerts and donates his time to cancer support efforts. The SFLF continues to support many 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 low income patients and increase marrow donation in minority communities. Francke and Broadway star Brian d'Arcy James recently raised $92,000 for the Fields Neurological Institute in their hometown of Saginaw, Michigan.

In 2009, Stewart Francke received the 20th Anniversary Lifetime Achievement Arts Award from his hometown of Saginaw.

He lives in Huntington Woods, Michigan with his wife Julia.