Archie Francis was my friend, neighbor and bandmate. We played music together for seven years, but Archie had many other musical friendships that lasted more than 50 years.
An 11-time Academy of Country & Western Music Drummer of the Year, Archie was one of the original architects of the "Bakersfield Sound." He was the drummer of choice for virtually every Country Music Hall-of-Famer. You've heard him with Buck Owens, JayDee Maness, Pete Anderson, Freddy Fender, Roger Miller, Albert Lee, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Hank Thompson, Ray Campi, James Burton, the Palomino Riders, Red Rhodes, Delany Bramlett, Gene Davis, Oscar Whittington, Joe Maphis, Doug Kershaw, Hank Williams, Jr., Tanya Tucker, and everyone else who ever twanged a note.
To celebrate Archie's wonderful life of music, fun and corn, 400 of his closest friends got together to play some music and share memories. I filmed the concert, added a few clips of Archie playing with me, and made this short documentary to give everyone a peek at what Archie Francis was all about.
The file loads slowly, because it's in high-definition and it's about 11 minutes long. So grab an ear of corn and relax for a minute while the movie loads. Or you can watch the fast-loading 6-minute version on YouTube HERE.
Hope you like it.
Love,
Bartt