Trivia

Was the manager and bass player for Country Music legend Johnny Horton from 1955 until November 5, 1960, when Johnny was tragically killed in a car accident in Milano, Texas. Johnny and Tillman were returning to Shreveport, Louisiana after a concert at the "Skyline Club" in Austin, Texas, along with guitarist Tommy Tomlinson, when a drunk driver crossed the line on a bridge in Milano and hit Johnny head-on. Franks was in the front passenger seat next to Johnny, who was driving, and was critically injured but survived. Tomlinson, who was in the back seat, was also badly injured, and eventually had to have his leg amputated because of the injury received in the crash.