Francesca Beghe was born and raised in New York City where she grew up studying classical piano and sang in the church choir. In her teens she found her true calling while learning to sing and play the songs of Aretha Franklin, Odetta, Betty Carter and Bonnie Raitt. One of her first gigs was the front room of Hoboken’s legendary Maxwell’s playing the piano and singing Mose Allison songs. “I would mix those up with Stevie Wonder tunes, Tom Petty’s “Refugee,” Aerosmith’s “Dream On” she remembers. “My piano playing was not cocktail piano, it was rock and roll piano. I wouldn’t do standards. I wouldn’t do requests. I just wanted to get out there and play as a musician.”
Francesca spent the next several years developing her own songwriting and playing around the New York club scene performing in virtually every major venue in the area opening for Jerry Garcia, Jorma Kaukonen, Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry and Brownie Mcghee (among others) at The Ritz, Roseland, The Beacon Theatre and The Bitter End. Her first demo project was produced by Jimmy Miller, renowned producer of the Rolling Stones and Steve Winwood.
In 1989, Francesca was signed to EMI Music Publishing when her song “Trust in Me” was recorded by Joe Cocker. In 1990, she was signed to SBK/EMI Records by it’s founder Charles Koppelman, who fell in love with her record and put the full weight of his promotion machine behind her.
In 1991, Francesca released her debut album for SBK/EMI Records to immediate critical acclaim. Reviews in such notable magazines as Rolling Stone, People and Musician became the standard as Beghe supported her release with a national tour opening for Michael Bolton and making multiple appearances on “The Tonight Show.” She was voted VH1’s Artist of the Month and is often compared to iconic female vocalists Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Bonnie Raitt and “…best of all, nobody you’ve ever heard of.” (People)
In 1993, Francesca went back into the studio with writer/producer Glen Ballard (Alanis Morrissette, Aerosmith, Dave Mathews). She emerged with a beautifully crafted and recorded album which was mixed by Ed Cherney and featured songs co-written with Ballard and other legendary writers including J.D. Souther, and Will Jennings. Sadly, amid the chaos and cost-cutting that ultimately led to the label’s demise, the album was never released.
Francesca continued working. Her song “Trust in Me,” recorded by Joe Cocker, was featured in the Oscar nominated film “The Bodyguard” starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. “No Use Talkin’” co-written with Cindy Bullens and recorded by Irma Thomas, was featured in the film “Double Jeopardy,” starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman. Her song “Names on a Wall” about the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. was chosen by veteran’s groups for the title page of www.VietnamWar.com and is featured in an anti-war video produced by the group Veterans for Peace.
After taking some time off to start a family Francesca went back into the studio to record a new album. Produced by Ben Wisch and her husband Ben Green, she has assembled an all star cast including Marc Cohn, Jonatha Brooke, Shawn Pelton, Lenny Pickett and Ollabelle. With the grace and conviction so evident in her earlier work, Francesca stands poised and ready to continue her story.
hey thanks for your friendship; you are awesome... ahh, but you already knew that! If you get a moment, check out Tim... I know that you will like him. peace.
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