Cleve Francis
Author of "Do My Heart Good: My Odyssey Through Country Music, Medicine, and History", published by the Country Music Foundation Press and the University of Illinois Press.
Cleve Francis is a singer, songwriter, and recording artist as well as a medical doctor with a specialty in cardiology. Born into poverty in rural Jennings, Louisiana, he rose through hard work and resolve to become the successful head of a cardiology practice and one of the few Black performers ever to record country music for a major record label as of the early 1990s.
He made three country music albums between 1991 and 1994 for Capitol Records’ Liberty imprint, and they included his charting singles “Love Light” and “You Do My Heart Good,” among others. Throughout his life, Francis has written, performed, and recorded music—a through-line that intertwines with his education and medical career. The founder and CEO of Mount Vernon Cardiology, Francis is now retired from clinical practice and lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife, Hardeep.