Cleve Francis

While he dreamed of a career in country music as a boy and even learned guitar as a youth, performing seemed destined to became only a hobby when Cleve Francis obtained his degree from the Medical College of Virginia in 1973. Francis moved to Washington, D.C., and established himself as a cardiologist. However, he was soon moonlighting in local clubs as a singer, and even self-released three albums on his own label. Francis' real break came through a patient, Olaf Hall, whose brother was Big John Hall, a member of the R&B band the Heartbeats. Big John helped Francis get an aud...