Jerry Franklin looks back on 63 years of music ministry; To be honored at Sand Spring Nov. 19

By John Herndon, KentuckySings.com

When someone has been singing gospel music as long as Jerry Franklin, it’s natural to ask why he’s one of Kentucky’s most beloved bass voices.

You might offer that it’s because of his deep, smooth bass voice, one that many believe is at least on par with some of the giants in Southern Gospel music. “I have always said that (Franklin is as good as many more well-known bass singers),” says David Stevens of Victory Road, the quartet that has been home to Franklin’s low notes for the last 14 years.

But the bass singers that can hit the low notes are plentiful. Some are smooth, others are powerful. The question of which is better is a matter of preference.

And showmanship can’t be the reason for Franklin’s popularity. He rarely, if ever, draws attention to himself with Victory Road. He never did with the groups he’d been a part of since stepping onto the stage for the first time in 1963.

But Jerry Franklin might have answered the question in a passing comment during an interview in late October. “For me, (singing) is a personal escape,” he said. “Whatever time we are singing, the rest of my problems in the world go away. I can concentrate on nothing but worshiping the Almighty God and Savior.”

As much as his low voice, that’s a trait of Jerry Franklin’s ministry through music. He’s caught up in worshiping Jesus and invites the audience, whether a handful of people or a packed house of Southern Gospel fans, to join him in that journey of praising Jesus.

Jerry Franklin is 85 now and has decided to disconnect his microphone after 63 years of music ministry. The music has changed, but the reason behind his low notes remains steadfast.

Singing about the Almighty God and Savior is a characteristic that was ingrained into Franklin as a young boy growing up in the Avenstoke area of Anderson County. It continued to manifest itself when he joined the Chancellors Quartet upon his discharge from the U.S. Navy in 1963. It’s been there as Franklin took the stage opening for some of the biggest names in Southern Gospel and it continues today.

“The biggest compliment that I get after a concert is that people come up to me all the time and say, ‘The thing that sets your group apart from so many others is that we can feel the spirit when you sing. We felt like we have come and worshiped,'” Stevens says.  “To me, that’s the biggest compliment that they can give us. I think Jerry is a huge part of that because he is such a spiritual person to start with.”

Franklin has always been a fan of music, especially gospel music. “My grandfather taught me the shape notes,” he said with a smile.

Franklin’s father died when he was just 11 months old, but that grandfather became the male figure in his life. Franklin’s mother made sure he was at Pigeon Fork Baptist Church every Sunday.

“Every Sunday morning, we listened to the Renfro Valley Gathering,” Franklin remembered.

A job would prompt his mother to move to Middletown, near Louisville. Jerry graduated from Eastern High School in 1959 and immediately joined the Navy.

“Believe it or not, I never was stationed on a ship,” he said.

Yet he’s obviously proud of his four years of service, most of that time being in Norfolk, Va. As we talked over lunch at the Shelbyville Cracker Barrel, Franklin sported a “U.S. Navy” cap and while we were talking a man made his way over to the table to shake his hand.  “I don’t know him,” Franklin smiled.

But when he returned to Kentucky from Norfolk, Franklin joined a new quartet that his older brother, Haskell, was forming. The Chancellors became one of central Kentucky’s most popular groups and established Franklin as one of the Commonwealth’s best bass singers. During that time, the Chancellors had the honor of opening for one of gospel music’s hottest groups, The Prophets. “That was in the gym at Anderson High School,” Franklin said. The building is now home to the Christian Academy of Lawrenceburg.

Franklin stayed with the Chancellors “7 or 8 years” before forming “New Jerusalem” with his wife, Rita, and daughters, Robin and Lica. That group didn’t stay together long but had a claim to fame of opening for the Master’s V at the Shelby County Fairgrounds.

It was there that Franklin was up close and personal with one of his heroes, J.D. Sumner. When reminded that Sumner was often referred to as the “World’s Lowest Bass Singer,” Franklin just smiled and said, “I never heard a note that he hit that I couldn’t hit.”

Franklin would later sing with a Louisville-based group, Manna, that had one song to hit the gospel music radio charts, and later joined Sammy Tommes, who had sung with Manna, in a Leitchfield-based group called Legend.

Driving from his home near Mt. Eden, on the Shelby-Spencer county line to Leitchfield would have been a daunting task, but Franklin loved that time. “For about two years, every Friday night, my wife and I got in the car and drove two hours to Leitchfield to practice. A lot of times, we just stayed for the weekend whether we were singing or not.”

Franklin’s last stop in his gospel journey came with Victory Road in 2012.

“The first time I heard Jerry sing, he was with Manna,” Stevens said. “They were in Mt. Eden and I thought he was very good.”

When Victory Road, based in Taylorsville not far from Franklin’s home, had an opening for a bass singer, Stevens took a chance on calling the popular bass.

“I said, ‘Jerry Franklin will never sing with us.’ I thought he was too good. But I called him on a Sunday afternoon and he joined our group.”

The last 14 years have been different for Franklin. Prior to joining Victory Road, every group he’d been a part of had been accompanied only by a piano. Victory Road brings a full band – piano, two guitars, bass and drums – nearly every night. “It’s different, but what’s more important than anything else is that with Victory Road, it’s absolutely, 100 percent, a worship service. I like that,” Franklin said.

He’s seen music change over time and while he sings traditional Southern Gospel, he’s open to the changes. “Music is a generational thing to begin with,” Franklin said.

He’s been around many of the greats. In addition to opening for the Masters V and the Prophets, Franklin has been in groups that have opened for the Florida Boys and the Statesmen. He’s been able to record in the Goodman Studios.

But ultimately, he’s content singing about his Almighty God and Savior in churches throughout central Kentucky and southern Indiana.

Age, however, has begun to take a toll, leading Franklin to step down. “The number one thing is my memory,” he said. “There are times when I forget where I am supposed to be. I want to be able to give it my best.”

However, you can be sure that Franklin will continue to sing as much as possible at Christiansburg Baptist Church, where his son-in-law, Harry Hebert, serves as pastor. It’s family to Franklin, whose wife died 10 years ago.

But for Victory Road, that last date will be Dec. 5 and chances are that Victory Road will sing Jerry Franklin’s favorite song, “The Eastern Gate.”

“My father died when I was 11 months old so I don’t remember him,” Franklin said. “My mother told me that was the only song sung at his funeral.”

And you can be sure that until Dec. 5, Victory Road will find a place for “Sinner Saved By Grace” in the programs.  The Cathedrals’ George Younce, one of Franklin’s heroes, made the song popular. When asked if the song is Victory Road’s signature song, Franklin said, “It’s my signature song. We have been singing that song for about 10 years.”

Every time Jerry Franklin sings “I’m just a sinner saved by grace,” Stevens knows that it’s a special moment. “I have always said that (Franklin is as good as many of southern gospel’s stars),” Stevens said. “I have been going to the National Quartet Convention for 35 years now and I have heard a lot of good bass singers. But when I hear Jerry sing ‘Sinner Saved By Grace,’ I don’t think anyone could hold a candle to Jerry Franklin when it comes to singing that song.”

For Jerry Franklin it’s more than a song. It’s a way of life. And he’s been singing about that way of life for 63 years.

FRANKLIN TO BE HONORED AT SAND SPRING

Victory Road is scheduled to open for The LeFevre Quartet at Sand Spring Baptist Church, near Lawrenceburg, on Thursday, Nov. 19. The concert begins at 7 p.m.

It will be Jerry Franklin’s final time singing at one of Kentucky’s premier gospel music venues and Stevens says a big night is in the works. “We have a special evening planned to honor Jerry that night. A lot of Jerry’s family will be coming that night. Some of the folks that used to sing with him have been invited to come that night. It’s going to be a big recognition so we would love for anybody who has ever heard or seen Jerry Franklin ever in their life to help honor this man for 63 years of singing gospel music.”