Rodney Franklin obit

R&B and Jazz great Rodney Franklin dies at 67

 

He was not on the list.

(July 9, 2026) We received the sad news this morning of the passing of R&B and Jazz great Rodney Franklin. Franklin’s family issued the following statement through his niece, Jamaica Hughes, on the GoFundMe page that had been set up to assist with his medical bills:

“Rodney Thomas Franklin passed away peacefully today, July 8, 2026. While we will miss him immensely, we rejoice in knowing that he is no longer in pain and is at peace. He was a beloved father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend. We are currently processing today’s events and will up day you all with next steps soon. We humbly thank you for your support. Please keep the family in your prayers.”

For a period in the 1980s, Rodney Franklin was among the most popular jazz pianists around, and with good reason. As the talent behind more than a dozen albums, he helped to usher in the period where R&B and jazz were blending into a tasty stew that became popular under the moniker “contemporary jazz.”

Born in Berkeley, California in 1958, Franklin was a child prodigy on the piano, and was already playing in bands around town by his mid-teens. He recorded with the band In One Piece at the shocking age of 14.

By the time Franklin graduated high school, he was gigging around California with such notables as Freddie Hubbard and Marlena Shaw. He was signed by Columbia Records and released his debut album, In the Center, in 1978. But it was his 1980 follow up album, You’ll Never Know, that shot him onto the charts, hitting the top 10 Jazz and spawning the international crossover hit, “In the Groove.”

Over the period 1980-88, Franklin became a fixture on the jazz charts, releasing an album nearly every year and building a strong audience for his soulful version of contemporary jazz. His 1985 ballad, “Song for You” became a surprise Quiet Storm radio favorite, and the beautiful number continues to garner play decades later.

While Franklin’s recording career was over by the turn of the century, he continued to be a draw in the Bay Area, where he regularly performs in clubs. Rodney Franklin was a big part of the palette of musical styles that blended together to make the 70s and 80s so interesting, and we will miss him.