Franco

Francois Makiadi Luambo professionally known as Franco was a Congolese singer and songwriter whose music cemented him as a legend in the music landscape for his mastery of African Rhumba. Many of Franco’s songs become very popular and trendy online with a great number of streaming and downloads on Boomplay.

Franco was nicknamed by fans and critics "Sorcerer of the Guitar" and the "Grand Maître of Zairean Music. Franco died on 12 October 1989, at Namur in Belgium, of AIDS

CAREER
Franco joined the TPOK band in 1956 and in his thirty-three years with the band, Franco and TPOK Jazz released hundreds of singles and over 100 albums. His most known hit, "Mario", sold more than 200,000 copies and got certified gold.

Franco's music often relied on huge ensembles, with as many as six vocalists and several guitarists. According to a description, "horns might engage in an upbeat dialogue with the guitar, or set up hypnotic vamps that carried the song forward as on the crest of a wave," while percussion parts are “a cushion supporting the band, rather than a prod to raise the energy level”.

Franco was a member for 33 years, from its founding in 1956 until his death in 1989, of TPOK Jazz, which has been called "arguably the most influential African band of the second half of the 20th century," and he was its co-leader or sole leader for most of that period.

Franco’s songs are included in Boomplay music playlists. Search to stream and download Franco’s songs MP3/ single/ albums on the platform

ACHIEVEMENTS
Franco is commonly described as the preeminent African musical figure of the 20th century. For example, world-music expert Alistair Johnston calls him "the giant of 20th century African music."

A reviewer in The Guardian wrote that Franco "was widely recognised as the continent's greatest musician, back in the years before Ali Farka Touré or Toumani Diabaté."

Ronnie Graham wrote, in his encyclopedic 1988 Da Capo Guide to Contemporary African Music, that "Franco is beyond doubt Africa's most popular and influential musician."

Franco’s songs are included in Boomplay music playlists. Search to stream and download Franco’s songs MP3/ single/ albums on the platform.