Michael Franks (1944) is a singer and songwriter from the United States. Born in La Jolla, California, he began singing folk-rock, accompanying himself on guitar, in High School. He studied music in college, earned an M.A. from UCLA in Comparative Literature and a PhD from the University of Oregon, and taught undergraduate music courses.
He was on records with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and recorded an eponymous CD now titled Previously Unavailable (originally Brut, now DRG Records) before landing a contract with Warner Brothers Music in 1973. Since then, Michael has recorded over 15 more albums, still counting.

The music style comes light and easy and is a mixture of pop and smooth jazz.

For some time in 2006 Michael Franks hosted a show on the radiostation XM Watercolors presenting music of his taste.