As a result of his his parents' love for swing music, Michael Franks was steeped
in jazz during his formative years. During his teens he was at college in San
Diego at the height of the beatnik era and discovered the music of Dave Brubeck,
Miles Davis as well as the poetry of Theodore Roethke. After graduating he
became a teacher and began writing songs in his spare time and wrote the
anti-war musical 'Anthems in E-flat' which starred a young Mark Hamill, later to
become Luke Skywalker in 'Star Wars'.
Franks soon began to receive commissions for film scores, an early example b...