Kirk Franklin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kirk Franklin
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Franklin in 2017
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| Born |
Kirk Dewayne Smith
January 26, 1970 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
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| Education | O. D. Wyatt High School |
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| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Tammy Collins
(m. 1996) |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards | Full list |
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Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is a famous American gospel musician. He is known for his amazing songs and for leading popular music groups. Kirk Franklin has won many awards, including 20 Grammy Awards.
Variety magazine called him the "Reigning King of Urban Gospel." He was also one of the first people to be honored in the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame. Kirk Franklin led well-known groups like The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC). These groups helped make gospel music popular.
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Kirk Franklin's Early Life
Kirk Franklin grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. His aunt, Gertrude, raised him after his mother left him as a baby. Gertrude worked hard, even recycling cans, to pay for Kirk's piano lessons. He started playing piano at age four.
Kirk was very good at music. He could read and write music and also play by ear. When he was seven, he received his first music contract, but his aunt turned it down. He joined the church choir and became the music director for the adult choir at Mt. Rose Baptist Church when he was just 11 years old.
As a teenager, Kirk faced some challenges. To help him stay out of trouble, his grandmother arranged an audition for him. He was accepted into a professional youth music program. However, he later had to leave school due to some difficulties.
Kirk continued to study music with Jewell Kelly at Oscar Dean Wyatt High School. He became the pianist for the school choir. When he was 15, a sad event made him return to church. He started directing the choir again.
He also helped start a gospel group called The Humble Hearts. They recorded one of his songs, which caught the attention of Milton Biggham. Biggham was a gospel music legend. He asked Kirk to lead the DFW Mass Choir in recording Kirk's song "Every Day with Jesus." This led to Kirk, at only 20 years old, leading the choir at a big music event in 1990.
Kirk Franklin's Music Career
Leading Music Groups (1992–2000)
In 1992, Kirk Franklin formed "The Family." This was a 17-voice choir made up of his friends and neighbors. A co-founder of GospoCentric Records, Vicki Mack-Lataillade, heard their music. She was so impressed that she signed Kirk & The Family to a record deal.
In 1993, the group, now called "Kirk Franklin & The Family," released their first album. It stayed on the gospel music charts for almost two years. It also appeared on the R&B charts and eventually sold over a million copies. This album was number one on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart for 42 weeks. It was one of the few gospel albums to sell over a million units.
Two years later, after a Christmas album in 1995, the group released Whatcha Lookin' 4 in 1996. This album also sold over a million copies. It earned Kirk Franklin his first Grammy Award.
In 1996, Whitney Houston and the Georgia Mass Choir recorded Franklin's song "Joy." This song was part of the best-selling gospel album ever, the soundtrack for The Preacher's Wife.
In 1997, Kirk Franklin worked with the vocal group God's Property. They released an album called God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation. The main song, "Stomp", featured Cheryl "Salt" James from Salt-N-Pepa. This song was a huge hit. It played a lot on music channels and reached number one on the R&B Singles Airplay chart. The album itself was number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for five weeks. It sold over three million copies and earned Franklin another Grammy.
The Nu Nation Project was released in 1998. The first song, "Lean on Me", featured many famous artists. These included R. Kelly, Mary J. Blige, and Bono from U2. This song and "Revolution" were big hits. The album also had a version of Bill Withers' song "Gonna Be a Lovely Day". The Nu Nation Project was number one on the Billboard Contemporary Christian Albums chart for 23 weeks. It also topped the Billboard Gospel Albums chart for 49 weeks. This album brought Franklin his third Grammy.
In 1998, Kirk Franklin appeared on the TV show Sister, Sister. In 1999, Kirk Franklin decided to stop working with The Family group. He then recorded Kirk Franklin presents 1NC, which came out in August 2000.
In January 2010, Kirk Franklin & The Family reunited for a short performance. They sang their popular songs from the 1990s. Both The Family and God's Property reunited in 2023 for The Reunion Tour. They also recorded a video for "Silver and Gold" during that time.
Kirk Franklin as a Solo Artist (2001–Present)
In 2001, Kirk Franklin created the music for the movie Kingdom Come. The soundtrack included many gospel artists like Mary Mary. It also featured mainstream artists like Jill Scott.
In February 2002, his album The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin was released. It was recorded live at Lakewood Church. This album was number one on the Gospel Albums chart for 29 weeks. It also topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and sold over a million copies. The album featured collaborations with many artists, including Shirley Caesar and Yolanda Adams.
In 2004, Franklin started his own music label called Fo Yo Soul Entertainment. He also made a new deal with Zomba Label Group.
On October 4, 2005, Hero was released. This album sold over a million copies. It reached number one on both the Billboard Top Christian and Top Gospel albums charts. The first song, "Looking for You", was a hit. "Imagine Me" also became popular on the R&B charts. Kirk Franklin won two Grammys for Hero in 2007. Hero was also named CD of the Year at the 2007 Stellar Awards.
Franklin's 10th album, The Fight of My Life, came out on December 18, 2007. It sold 74,000 copies in its first week. It reached number one on the Billboard Top Gospel and Top Christian albums charts. The first song, "Declaration (This is It)," was released on October 23, 2007. It reached number 35 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart.
In January 2010, after a big earthquake in Haiti, Franklin brought together many gospel artists. They sang a song he wrote called "Are You Listening." Famous singers like Yolanda Adams and Mary Mary were part of this group.
In 2005, Franklin and his wife appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. They talked about how he overcame personal struggles. In 2010, he wrote a book called The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life's Storms. In the book, he shared about his childhood difficulties and how he changed his life.
Franklin was the host and producer of the BET show Sunday Best. He was also a music co-host for GSN's The American Bible Challenge. His 11th album, Hello Fear, was released on March 22, 2011. The album featured artists like Marvin Sapp and Mali Music. The first song, "I Smile", became his first song to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in six years.
In 2013, Franklin started signing artists to his label, Fo Yo Soul Recordings. This label works with RCA Records. He signed groups like The Walls Group and artists like Tasha Page-Lockhart. These artists received many awards.
In September 2015, Franklin announced his twelfth album, Losing My Religion. It was released on November 13, 2015. The first song from the album, "Wanna Be Happy?", came out on August 28, 2015.
Franklin also worked on Tori Kelly's album Hiding Place, released on September 14, 2018. They planned to work on one song, but it turned into a bigger project.
On January 25, 2019, Franklin released his song "Love Theory" and its music video. This was the first song from his 13th album, Long Live Love. He released "Just for Me" in April 2019 and "OK" in May 2019. Long Live Love was released on May 31, 2019.
In February 2019, it was announced that Sunday Best would return. Franklin continued his role as host.
After the 2019 GMA Dove Awards, Franklin said his acceptance speech was edited. He felt comments he made about important social issues were removed. He stated he would not attend the awards show in the future. The GMA president apologized and said it was an accident. Other artists supported Franklin's decision.
In 2021, he was honored as one of the first people inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
On May 21, 2021, Franklin and rapper Lil Baby released the song "We Win." This song was for the soundtrack of the 2021 movie Space Jam: A New Legacy.
On October 14, 2023, Franklin released his thirteenth album, Father's Day.
Kirk Franklin's Personal Life
On January 20, 1996, Kirk Franklin married his long-time friend Tammy Collins. When they got married, they each had one child from previous relationships. Together, they have two more children.
In November 1996, Kirk Franklin had a serious accident. He fell from a stage into an orchestra pit during a concert. He suffered a head injury but made a full recovery.
In March 2021, Kirk Franklin's oldest son, Kerrion, shared an audio recording of a private conversation with his father. Franklin later apologized to his fans.
In 2023, Franklin met his biological father, Richard Hubbard, for the first time. He also made up with his son Kerrion. This was shown in his documentary film Father's Day: A Kirk Franklin Story.
Franklin has openly shared how his faith helped him overcome past challenges.
Kirk Franklin's Music Albums
Kirk Franklin & The Family
- Kirk Franklin and the Family (1993)
- Kirk Franklin & the Family Christmas (1995)
- Whatcha Lookin' 4 (1996)
Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation
- God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation (1997)
- The Nu Nation Project (1998)
Kirk Franklin and 1 Nation Crew
- Kirk Franklin Presents 1NC (2000)
Kirk Franklin
- The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin (2002)
- Hero (2005)
- The Fight of My Life (2007)
- Hello Fear (2011)
- Losing My Religion (2015)
- Long, Live, Love (2019)
- Father’s Day (2023)
Kirk Franklin & Maverick City Music
- Kingdom Book One (2022)
Kirk Franklin's Film and TV Appearances
Kirk Franklin has appeared in several films and television shows.
Films
- Something to Sing About (2000) as Charles
- Joyful Noise (2012) as Baylor Sykes
- Kirk Franklin's A Gospel Christmas (2021) as Himself
- The Night Before Christmas (2022) as Himself
- Father's Day: A Kirk Franklin Story (2023) as Himself (Documentary)
Television Shows
- The 700 Club (1995, 2004) as Himself/musical guest
- Late Show with David Letterman (1997, 2003) as Musical guest
- All That (1998) as Musical guest
- The Kirk Franklin Show (1998) as Himself (Pilot episode)
- Sister, Sister (1998) as James Henry
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1998, 2003, 2004) as Musical guest
- The Proud Family (2003) as Reverend Haygood (voice)
- The Oprah Winfrey Show (2005) as Himself/special guest
- Steve Harvey (2016) as Himself/special guest
- Steve (2019) as Himself/special guest
- Kingdom Business (2022) as Deacon D'Wayne
- Tamron Hall (2023) as Himself/special guest
Kirk Franklin's Awards and Honors
Kirk Franklin has won many important awards for his music. He has received 20 Grammy Awards and 22 GMA Dove Awards. He has also won BET Awards, Soul Train Music Awards, and Stellar Awards.
See also
In Spanish: Kirk Franklin para niños
