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Gil Franklin

Guitar, Slide Guitar, Lap Steel, Vocals

Before there was a Swamp Donkey, there was Gilbo. He is "OD" - Original Donkey. A fixture on the Arkansas music scene for over three decades, Gil is the proverbial triple threat - a powerful, lyrical guitar player; an expressive and compelling singer; and a gifted songwriter. A native of Ken, Arkansas, Gil bought his first guitar - a $10 "junk piece" - at age 17. Later, he got his mama to co-sign on an Epiphone Coronet from Moses Melody Shop. He picked up a Silvertone amp for $30 and was on his way. As founding member of The Blues Patrol in 1982, Gil did the impossible: He made a living playing the blues. 

Today Gil is at the heart of the Little Rock blues scene, playing at every opportunity and co-leading the Arkansas River Blues Society's monthly Sunday Afternoon Blues Jam. In 2016 Gil recorded and released a CD of fifteen of his original songs, Ghosts.

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