Black Francis

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Charles Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.

He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he appears under the stage name Black Francis.

Frank Black, the band's founder, began his solo career after the band's breakup in 1993.

After releasing two albums on record label 4AD and one with American Recordings, he departed the brand and formed Frank Black and the Catholics, a new band.

In 2007, he re-adopted the name Black Francis. His vocal style has varied from a yelling lead vocalist of the Pixies to a more measured, melodic style in his solo career.

His cryptic lyrics mostly explore bizarre topics, including surrection, incest, and biblical abuse, as well as science fiction and surf culture.

Thompson regrouped the Pixies in early 2004, but he continued to perform solo albums and tours as a solo artist until 2013.

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Early solo career

Thompson was speaking to the Pixies about a potential solo album while the Pixies' 1991 album Trompe le Monde was being recorded. Even though he had no new music to perform again, he told Norton he was eager to record again; as a result, the two decided on a cover album. However, by the time Thompson visited a recording studio again in 1992, he had "plenty of tunes and musical scraps."

He collaborated with Feldman to produce new music; the Beach Boys' "Hang On to Your Ego" began by reducing the number of covers to one. Feldman became the album's engineer, and he played keyboard and bass guitar on several albums, with Santiago on lead guitar and Nick Vincent on drums. In late 1992 and early 1993, Francis recorded the album during the Pixies' hiatus and breakup. Frank Black then started "Frank Black" (inverting his old name "Black Francis") and released the findings as Frank Black in March 1993. Frank Black was characterized by a UFO and science fiction story, but he also investigated other topics, such as "I Heard Ramona Sing," a Ramones song. Both stylistically and lyrically, the album was similar to Pixies' albums Bossanova and Trompe le Monde. Feldman later said that the first record related to his solo venture with Trompe le Monde, "but at the same time it is an island, as nothing else [Black] did."

Black's second solo album, a 22-song double album titled Teenager of the Year, was released in the following year. The teen included the song "Headache" (sample), a moderate success on alternative rock playlists; critics characterized the album as "irresistible pop." The year's Teenager was markedly different from Frank Black's; in the previous album, MIDI templates were used when designing songs, but Black in Teenager showed individual pieces to band members, the majority of which featured drummer Vincent and Lyle Workman on lead guitar. While recording the album, Feldman said Thompson's songwriting became "a lot more spontaneous." Thompson had begun to drift away from his Pixies style, writing songs that covered a variety of genres and topics, and his newfound method of recording was closer to Frank Black and Trompe le Monde's.

Both Frank Black and Teenager of the Year were highly regarded, although they had little commercial success. Thompson began using the letters 4AD and Elektra in 1995. On Rick Rubin's American Recordings, he released The Cult of Ray in 1996; the album marked a departure from his intricately constructed debut of his first solo debuts and was predominantly live with no overdubs. Lyle Workman, the sole Teenager holdover, appeared on lead guitar on this album, as well as bassist David McCaffrey and Scott Boutier on drums. Although the album was neither technically nor commercially profitable, Thompson's stripped-down approach would increasingly frame Thompson's working methods for the next few years.

Thompson dubbed his new band "Frank Black and the Catholics" and released their debut in 1997, which was titled on their eponymous first album. He started the session live-to-two-track as a demo but was so impressed with the results that he decided to discontinue the recordings with no further production. The album was postponed for more than a year due to internal and external failures at American Universities, and it was finally released in late 1998 by SpinArt Records in the United States in late 1998. Since leaving American Recordings, Black has avoided long-term deals with labels and has maintained control of his album masters, licensing each album individually for release.

Frank Black and the Catholics was the first album to be added to the eMusic service; they claim that it is "the first album to be made legally available for commercial download" on the internet. Thompson's ostensibly skepticism regarding the album's critical reception was mixed, with some commentators dismissing Thompson's sudden departure from the Pixies' "quirkiness" of the Pixies and his early solo career for a self-consciously optimistic option, and the album's "disappointingly straightforward punk-pop" musical style on the record.

For all subsequent launches under the brand name, he'll continue to eschew multi-track recording for the live-to-two-track approach. The use of overdubs to correct mistakes or add texture is not allowed in a live-to-two-track recording; both takes are recorded continuously, and mixing is done "on the fly." On later albums, he brought more musicians into the sessions to allow for more varied musical textures. He continued, explaining the technique's logic, adding that he observed the following:

Rich Gilbert was brought to the Catholics in 1998 to perform session and sideman duties, replacing him. Pistolero was released by Frank Black and the Catholics in 1999 and Dog in the Sand in 2001. Dave Philips on pedal steel guitar and lead guitar, and Santiago and Feldman began appearing with the group live and on tape, and from there.

Thompson had begun to include an increasing number of the band's songs into Catholics performances by this time, as well as including Santiago in his solo career. Black and the Catholics continued to produce records; in 2002, Black Letter Days and Devil's Workshop were released as two separate albums; Black Letter Days and Devil's Workshop. The Pixies' album "Vivelvety" (sample), a Pixies song "Velvety Instrumental Version" that Black wrote as a child, was included in the Devil's Workshop. The album was one of the first signs that he had acknowledged his time with the Pixies in his solo career. Show Me Your Tears, the Catholics' sixth album, was released in 2003. Thompson's new divorce and admission to therapy inspired Show Me Your Tears' title and many of the songs in it.

The Pixies were rehearsing for a reunion tour in late 2003, following long-standing rumors. In April 2004, the band appeared in public for the first time in 12 years, and in the same year, the band toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. They also recorded "Bam Thwok," one of Deal's compositions, which was released on the iTunes Music Store. Frank Black Francis, a double album bridging the gap between his two personas, was released in time with the Pixies reunion tour. The first album featured solo demos of Pixies songs recorded the day before The Purple Tape was released, as well as two separate Pixies songs titled "Inspiring Pixies" by Two Pale Boys.

Thompson began to collaborate with a group of Nashville session musicians, including Steve Cropper, Spooner Oldham, Reggie Young, and Anton Fig, as well as producer Jon Tiven. The company, which was originally named Honeycomb under the Frank Black name, received mostly favorable feedback in July 2005. Entertainment Weekly referred to the album as "spare, graceful, [and] in the pocket], while Billboard described it as "one of [Thompson's] finest hours." In June 2006, the second volume of Nashville sessions, a double album titled Fast Man Raider Man, was released. In June 2005, Thompson attended a concert by Christian rock pioneer Larry Norman in Salem, Oregon. Norman and Thompson performed a duet on "Watch What You're Doing," which later appeared on Norman's album, Live at The Elsinore.

Thompson continued to tour with the Pixies from 2005 to 2006. Despite being practically defunct, the Catholics still have two separate B-sides and rareties, Snake Oil and One More Road for the Hit on iTunes, with a view towards a future CD release. In the first part of 2006, Thompson was also working on new solo material with Feldman, some of which were performed live. Thompson's first solo tour since 2003 began in the fall of 2006, with Feldman Billy Block and Duane Jarvis as his backing band. Thompson revealed plans for the Pixies to begin rehearsing and recording a new album in January 2007, but no recording was made due to the Pixies' reluctance to commit to the project. He released the compilation Christmass album, a set of new studio recordings, hotel room sessions, and live acoustic recordings from a solo tour earlier this year.

Frank Black 93-03, a Frank Black "best of" collection, was published in June 2007. Thompson undertook a European tour with a new band that included Salem's Guards of Metropolis members Jason Carter and Charles Normal, as well as bassist Ding Archer. Thompson eschewed his rhythm guitar role and focused solely as a frontman and singer for this tour. Under his old stage name of Black Francis, a new album named Bluefinger was released in September 2007. He was inspired by Herman Brood's life and art on this album. He was influenced by his Dutch musician and artist's Herman Brood's life and art. In March 2008, Black Francis released Svn Fngrs, a new "mini-album" that he referred to as Black Francis.

Thompson was arrested by the Irish police in Dublin, Ireland, in February 2008, after staging an impromptu "precore" acoustic solo performance at St. Stephen's Green. He was later discovered and appeared in Vicar Street as planned and spent the night that night. However, a similar function planned for London was cancelled by police and had to be rescheduled for a small indoor venue.

Thompson, a former soldier of Massachusetts, lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, and with his two children from previous marriages, he has three children. The couple met in Eugene, Oregon, where they met. Thompson and Clark currently form the Grand Duchy, with Thompson and Clark as the group's leader. Petit Fours, the band's debut album, was released in February 2009.

Art Brut vs. Satan, Black's third album, was released the following year. Black conducted multiple joint interviews about the album, including frontman Eddie Argos, and Art Brut supported the Pixies at their 2009 Brixton Academy show. Black was a collaborator on their album Brilliant! It's tragic!

In March 2010, Black Francis released NonStopErotik and contributed the song "I Heard Ramona Sing" to the soundtrack for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in August 2010.

Thompson produced and performed an album of new songs with collaborator Reid Paley as Paley & Francis in the fall of 2010. Jon Tiven's debut Paley & Francis album (also known as Paley & Francis) features Reid Paley and Black Francis on guitars and vocals, as well as Muscle Shoals legends Spooner Oldham on piano and bass. The album was released in North America on Sonic Unyon and in Europe on Cooking Vinyl.

Paley & Francis debuted live in early September 2011 with club appearances in Albany NY, Buffalo NY, and Hamilton, Ontario, as one of the Supercrawl Festival's headliners. Reid Paley and Black Francis on guitars and vocals, Eric Eble on bass, and Dave Varad on drums were all in the group for these shows. Both artists appeared on stage again from February 8 to 22, 2013, with the shows including solo performances by each artist.

Black Francis appeared on "See My Families" by Ray Davies in 2011, his tribute to the Kinks' "This Is Where I Belong" was included in his collection.

On March 22, 2013, Black Francis performed at The Coach House Concert Hall in San Juan Capistrano, California. The Pixies, minus original bassist Kim Deal, reformed for a world tour in 2014 and have since released three new studio albums: Indie Cindy (2014), Head Carrier (2016), and Beneath the Eyrie (2019).

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