François Luambo Luanzo Makiadi, universally known as Franco, was a colossal figure in 20th-century African music. Born on July 6, 1938, in Sona-Bata, then in the Belgian Congo, he began his musical journey in humble surroundings. After his father's death, Franco quit formal education and, as a young boy in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa), he played a homemade guitar to attract customers to his mother's market stall. His immense talent was quickly noticed, and by age 12, he had made his professional debut with Paul Ebengo Dewayon's Watam band. His early mastery of the instrument, earning him the lasting nickname "Sorcerer of the Guitar," was evident when he released his first solo record, "Bolingo na ngai na Beatrice," in 1953.
The defining moment of Franco’s career came in 1956 when he co-founded the band OK Jazz with Jean Serge Essous. Initially a sextet that got its name from the bar where they had a residency, Franco took over as bandleader around 1958 and never relinquished control, guiding the band—later renamed Tout-Puissant Orchestre Kinois de Jazz (TPOK Jazz) or "The Almighty Kinshasa Jazz Orchestra"—for over three decades. Under his leadership, TPOK Jazz grew into an African music powerhouse, at times boasting over 50 members. Franco's distinct guitar style, marked by polyrhythmic sophistication and intricate multi-string plucking, laid the foundation for the "OK Jazz School" of Congolese rumba, a style that evolved into the infectious sound of soukous and came to dominate Africa's airwaves.
Throughout his prolific career, Franco was a dynamic social commentator, satirist, and praise singer, composing an estimated over 1,000 songs and releasing more than 150 albums. His lyrics fearlessly tackled themes of love, marriage, rivalries, and politics, often leading to controversy and, on at least two occasions, brief jail sentences, notably for the lyrics of "Helene" and "Jackie" in 1978. Despite these troubles, he became deeply intertwined with the political elite, aligning himself with President Mobutu Sese Seko, who later named him a "Grand Maître of Zairean Music" and an "Officer of the National Order of the Leopard." Franco’s massive popularity spread across the African continent and beyond, securing his place as one of the most significant and influential African musicians of all time. Franco died in Brussels on October 12, 1989, at the age of 51, after a long illness widely believed to be AIDS, an issue he had publicly addressed in his 1987 song "Attention na SIDA." His death prompted four days of national mourning in Zaire, cementing his legacy as an enduring cultural icon.