story
Lin & John Franklin

Our Story and Journey: Together with music

How They Met

Right from the start, Lin and John's is a story of two hearts that met in voice lessons on a cold November night. When John showed up for his first lesson he purposely came a little early. He said:

"I had a strong feeling that I had to meet the person whose lesson was before me. Following my instincts usually serves me well. She had the voice of an angel. I listened to her singing the Judy Collins hit, Someday Soon.

The song spoke directly to me being that I was 21 and a young cowboy at heart. It was as if she was singing it right to me and we hadn’t even met. We exchanged phone numbers and got together a few days later and shared each other’s original songs. I was - as they say, hook, line and sinker!"

Check out our BLOG posts "Leaving Forever" for the amazing story that leads up to how we met.  Then,  “The Most Beautiful Woman ever Met”

"Wounds of Love" - Tennessee Highway - Lin & John

Seeing Triple - Tennesee Highway - Lin & John

Adventure, Fun & LIfe Lessons

John traveled over 40,000 miles hitchhiking around North America, and Lin went hang-gliding around the USA, settling in Jackson Hole. From 1973 to 1976, John hitchhiked from Labrador, Canada, to Mexico City and all in-between...

In 1974 Lin traveled to the US with two friends in a 69 Bonneville station wagon. They sewed their hang-gliding kites, carried them on the top of the car, flew from the Ozarks to the West Coast, and ended up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Lin played music at the Sojourner and the Wort hotel at night and skied all day.

Passing By - Coast to Coast - Lin & John

The Reunion

Coast to Coast was their first recorded band. J. A. brought together a bunch of Philadelphia talent when he formed the band in 1977. They performed in the scenes set in New Hope and Doylestown, Bucks County from New Jersey to Allentown. Lin joined the band in 1978, bringing her a rich vocal style, songwriting, and sensitivity, to creativity.

In 1980 they got married on Mariam‘s farm, in Bucks County. John & Lin have raised three kids teaching them how to ride horses on an organically certified farm. Now they reside on a little rapid-moving trout stream in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southern Virginia. Lin says,

“We have been writing and singing together for a long time and have nearly 300 original songs. We recently started writing about our adventure and journey to bring you more.”

Fall in Love - Coast to Coast - Lin & John

COAST to COAST

Recorded and released in 1979 On cassette, before CD Baby was born. LOL. Lin and Johnny's first record. Here’s what John had to say:

“This is an extremely exceptional record. You’ve gotta check this one out! Imagine, 23 years old, We all lived together in a house on the Delaware River and rehearsed/played all the time (check out our BLOG “Apple Jacks Bar” for more details) ). Most of our income came from gigs, waiting tables and tending bar. We were so tight that once we were set up in the studio, 20 songs were recorded in eight hours. Almost all 1st takes and no overdubs. If you are a Rock purist, you will love this!”

Playing in clubs next to George Thorogood, John Sebastian, Maria Muldaur, and many other knowns. They went on to open for Arlo Guthrie, Leon Russell, Michael Martin Murphy (Wildfire), Leon Redbone, DION, Steve Forbert, Livingston Taylor, Stacy Earle, and Jonathan Edwards.

Produced by Pete Helfrich, Engineer Assistant - Jamie McGee
A timeless collection of songs that span Rock, Country, and Reggae to great jams. This was their full original show song list that they recorded in one or two takes. 20 songs in an 8-hour session. Pete Helfrich was a brilliant producer that captured the band's stellar, well-rehearsed performance and did it on Vintage recording gear.

“No digital back then, baby.”

This is where Lin and John met Jamie McGee who co-produced In My Silverado.

JINDA LOHN

Recorded and released 1988 Lin and J. A.s second record.
While raising a young family, they were writing songs that reflect the importance of living a noble life for the sake of Our Children, The title song on the record.

In this record there are many songs that are inspired by what we call The Lakota years. This will be a wonderful topic in the podcast.
It was a time that we spent many moments with our Lakota friend Inila Wakan Janis that taught us about the ways of the Lakota people.

(More details in our BLOG “CRAZY INDIAN WAYS”)

The beginning of an alternative career

The late 80s beckoned the birth of John’s architectural design career.

The music business was not providing enough to feed their young family and support the dream of raising their children on the farm. Music was always first in their lives so they kept actively writing songs, recording the Jinda Lohn album, and performing. Songs like” In The Garden” told the story of their lives as it was unfolding. John always considered their architectural design career as a means to subsidize their main first love career: Music.

It wasn’t long before the architecture of business became very successful. They were published in Architectural Digest and on the cover of Country Living Magazine along with other national and regional publications.

franklindesign.us

"Apathetic Seesaw" - Move On - Linda Zapf Franklin

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You can see more of OUR STORY on the J.A.F. & L.Z.F. pages