None of my classmates even knew it was my birthday, you know? And he just, like, busts into the room, interrupts the whole history lesson. KELLY: Now, nothing illustrated this better than one moment on Naki's 16th birthday.įRANKLIN: I was just, you know, in my history class, in high school and just a regular day. You know, it was kind of funny, like, us being dad and daughter. And he was a rule-breaker (laughter) naturally. While he was working toward a degree in jazz studies at the University of the District of Columbia, his mentor, Calvin Jones, named him after a character from the 'Amos 'n' Andy' show.įRANKLIN: I believe he had a strong personality, and my dad had a strong personality.

She said she would, but then next thing she knew, he was pulling up at home in a taxi with the drum set because he just couldn't wait.ĬORNISH: Jazz gave Howard Franklin his nickname, Kingfish, which was often shortened to just Fish in D.C.

And then he called my grandmother to come pick him up with the drum set. KELLY: Every week, he brought his paycheck down to the music store to pay for a drum he had put aside on layaway.įRANKLIN: Once he gave them enough paychecks, he caught the taxi there and then got the drum set. So, like, he gathered some different, like, random buckets they had around the deli and, like, used duct tape and, like, contrapted (ph) his own drum set from, like, buckets and tape. NAKI FRANKLIN: When my dad was, like, a kid, he worked at a deli, a local deli. A native Washingtonian who was known for his jazz drumming prowess, his daughter, Naki Franklin, said he loved music more than anyone she's ever met. Today, we are remembering Howard 'Kingfish' Franklin. Over the past year and a half, we have been remembering some of the more than 750,000 people who have died of COVID-19 in the U.S., and we've asked you to share their stories with us.

Down with the sickness midi