Carol Augustus Anthony, known professionally as Carol Fran, was an American soul blues singer, pianist, and songwriter. Fran began a career as a jump blues singer with Don Conway before relocating to New Orleans. The debut single “Emmitt Lee” (1957) was released by Excello Records. Early career milestones included performing with Guitar Slim, Nappy Brown, and Joe Tex. In the 1960s, Fran signed with Lyric Records and released the tracks “The Great Pretender” (1962) and “Crying in the Chapel” (1964). Fran later married session guitarist Clarence Hollimon, and they collaborated on several albums, including Soul Sensation! (1992), See There! (1994), and It's About Time (2000). Fran was honored with the National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2013. Fran died on September 1, 2021.
