We were practically running up and down the streets spraying each other with champagne for years there. Well, not everybody. Playlists were shortened and it was harder for new artists to break into the big-star rotations. Finally, there were doubts about Francis' songs. I don't know if that's racism or not.
Songwriters are very commercial, and they want their songs to go to people who are charting.
Francis doesn't buy it. So I believe my songs were almost treated like they didn't exist. Francis heard that his press kit was tossed in the trash unopened at some small stations, and says a booking agent told him some club owners refused to hire him because he was black. Looking back on his three years on the road, Francis says there was a polarization of racial feelings nationwide. The Rodney King riots and the O.J. Simpson trial both fell during that time.