PAUL FRANKLIN (Nominated for Musician of the Year.)
Paul Franklin has played steel guitar on more than 500 albums. He moved from Detroit to Nashville in 1972 to play in Barbara Mandrell's touring band. In the late 1970s, he toured with Jerry Reed and Mel Tillis. He has played on albums for Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Dolly Parton, George Strait, Randy Travis, Shania Twain and many more. He has also crossed musical genres, doing sessions with Sting, Dire Straits, Elton John, Megadeth and Barbra Streisand. Franklin has been instrumental in bringing several new sounds to Country Music. He introduced the pedabro, which plays like a lap steel but has the sound of a dobro or resophonic guitar and was built and patented by Franklin's father; the baritone steel, which plays an octave lower than a regular steel and sounds like a six string electric bass with pedals; and an acoustic lap steel nicknamed "The Box," which sounds like a swampy acoustic guitar.
CMA Nominations:
1989 Musician of the Year
1990 Musician of the Year
1991 Musician of the Year
1993 Musician of the Year
1995 Musician of the Year
1996 Musician of the Year
1997 Musician of the Year
1998 Musician of the Year
1999 Musician of the Year
2000 Musician of the Year
2001 Musician of the Year
2002 Musician of the Year
2003 Musician of the Year
2005 Musician of the Year
(Bio and Award Listing courtesy the Country Music Association)