Кардиолог и музыкант Клиф Фрэнсис выпустил мемуары о преодолении расовой сегрегации и двойной карьере

When Cleve Francis first arrived in Williamsburg as a young man, he had a Bible, a guitar and a small brown suitcase. He had left Louisiana for the first time, and the experience felt overwhelming. “It was like going to Mars,” Francis said. Years later, Francis returned to Williamsburg for a very different reason. He was invited to give the opening convocation address at William & Mary in 2024. As he stood there thinking about how far he had come, he became emotional. More than five decades earlier, Francis had arrived in Williamsburg as a graduate student at William & Mary. Since then, he had become a cardiologist, country music singer and songwriter. Now, he is sharing his story in his memoir, “Do My Heart Good: My Odyssey Through Country Music, Medicine, and History.” The book, which will be released Oct. 6 by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMF Press and the University of Illinois Press, follows Francis’ life from growing up in segregated Louisiana during the Jim Crow-era through his careers in medicine and music. “I wanted people to know that when you were born in those circumstances, you could hold a pen in your hands and write your own chapter,” Francis said. In an early review, singer-songwriter Darius Rucker called the book “a heartfelt, honest portrayal of not only a Black man, but a Black musician preserving Black culture and its influence during a time of transition in our country.” William & Mary President Katherine Rowe, meanwhile, said Francis’ story has “much to teach the next generation of talented leaders about pursuing excellence with grit and flair.” Francis said he hopes his story will inspire others. He also wanted to recognize the people who helped him along the way, including his family, teachers and friends. His mother played an especially important role in his life. She encouraged him and his sisters to focus on education and believe they could build a better life. For Francis, music and medicine became two equally important parts of his life. Music gave him a way to express himself and find freedom during a difficult time in American history. Education, meanwhile, gave him a path toward becoming a doctor. Francis said he never saw music as simply a hobby. “When I was a doctor, I was a doctor 100%,” he said. “But when I was singing, I was 100%.” While attending William & Mary, Francis became known for performing a style of music he called “soul folk,” which combined folk, soul and gospel music. A professor encouraged him to record an album and helped raise money to make it happen. The album was originally called “Follow Me.” After Francis left Williamsburg for medical school, however, he moved on and largely forgot about the music. That changed decades later. In 2022, Francis received a call from a record company in Los Angeles that had discovered his old music. He still had the original master tape sitting in his basement. The album was remastered and re-released as “Beyond the Willow Tree.” Francis said the music has since found a new audience around the world, including younger listeners who have discovered his songs online. “At 81, it’s like I’m in my early 20s,” Francis said. Francis also made a name for himself in country music. In the 1990s, he became one of the few Black artists signed to a major country music label. His career in medicine also came with challenges. Francis was one of the first Black students and doctors in several of the programs where he studied. When he could not find a job as a cardiologist, he started his own practice. That practice eventually grew into one of the largest cardiology practices in Northern Virginia. Francis said being one of the first often meant feeling pressure to succeed and help make things easier for those who came after him. “I was leading the path so the next person would come along and wouldn’t have such a rough time,” he said. That is one of the main messages Francis hopes readers take away from his memoir. He wants young people to understand that life does not always follow one simple path. People may have more than one dream, and they may have to change direction along the way. “There’s no shortcut to this thing,” Francis said. Francis believes success takes hard work, determination and the willingness to keep going when things do not go as planned. Now, he is looking ahead to another major moment in his life: a featured performance on the Grand Ole Opry stage on Friday. For Francis, who grew up listening to country music with his father, the opportunity feels like a full-circle moment. As he reflects on his long journey, Francis said he hopes people remember him as someone who helped clear the way for others. “I would like to be remembered as somebody who left some footprints or cleared a path,” he said. Francis’ book is available for pre-sale through all major booksellers and through shop.countrymusichalloffame.org. Megan Roche, [email protected]