Panama Francis

Biography

21 December 1918, Miami, Florida, USA, d. 12 November 2001, Orlando, Florida, USA. Francis began to play drums at the age of eight, and made his first professional club appearance when he was 13 years old. Twelve months later he was on tour and in 1934 became a member of George Kelly’s band. By the time he was in his late teens he was resident in New York, where he quickly found work with Tab Smith and Roy Eldridge. In 1940 he joined Lucky Millinder’s big band, remaining there until... Read more