By the 1950s, Francis focused on studio work, as he quickly became one of the top studio drummers of the entire era, playing on early rock roll classics by such artists as Buddy Holly (Peggy Sue), the Four Seasons (Big Girls Don't Cry and Walk Like a Man), the Platters (Only You, The Great Pretender, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, and My Prayer), Bobby Darin (Splish Splash), and Neil Sedaka (Calendar Girl). But Francis' true background lay in jazz (he backed such leading jazz artists as Benny Goodman and Joe Williams) and RB, as he revisited his roots on such recordings as Prisoner of Love by James Brown, What a Difference a Day Makes by Dinah Washington, Drown in My Own Tears by Ray Charles, and Jim Dandy by Laverne Baker. Over the years, Francis landed several bit parts in motion pictures, including such films as The Learning Tree, Lady Sings the Blues, and Angel Heart, and in 1999, published his autobiography, David Gets His Drum, before succumbing to a stroke on November 11, 2001 at the age of 82. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi