Singer/Musician Randall Franks Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award from Georgia Gospel Country & Bluegrass Association

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Entertainer Randall Franks (second from right) receives the 2025 Georgia Gospel Country & Bluegrass Association Lifetime Achievement Award from (left) GGCBA Vice President Karen Franks, Co-President Brenda Sinard, and Co-President Wayne Sinard during a ceremony in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. (Photo: Randall Franks Media)

The Georgia Gospel Country & Bluegrass Association (GGCBA) has named entertainer Randall Franks its 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

Best known to television audiences as “Officer Randy Goode” on the long-running series “In the Heat of the Night,” Franks received the honor from GGCBA Co-Presidents Brenda and Wayne Sinard and Vice President Karen Franks during a recent ceremony in Fort Oglethorpe.

“This award means a great deal to Randall because it recognizes his work across country, bluegrass, and gospel – the three genres our association celebrates,” said GGCBA Co-President Brenda Sinard.

Franks is the sixth recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in the organization’s 30-year history adding to artists such as country singer Mary Kay James, entertainer James Rogers, and Southern gospel singer Earl Roberts, formerly of the Dixie Melody Boys.

“I am deeply humbled by this recognition,” Franks said. “No achievement happens alone. I owe everything to my parents, the musicians who mentored and played alongside me, the folks who bought tickets and recordings, and above all, to the good Lord who opened every door.”

Franks’ four-decade career spans all three genres represented by the GGCBA:

  • Country: 2025 #28 Country Comedy Single (“What It Was, Was Football”), 2024 Josie Music Awards Musician of the Year – Fiddle, 35 years leading the 80-year-old Hollywood Hillbilly Jamboree, 1994 Male Vocalist of the Year, and collaborations with Grand Ole Opry stars The Whites, Kitty Wells, Pee Wee King, Little Jimmy Dickens, and others.
  • Bluegrass: Former member of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, touring entertainer with Jim & Jesse, leader of the Peachtree Pickers (Grand Ole Opry guest performers), and multiple Top 30 bluegrass albums.
  • Gospel: First solo bluegrass gospel album to top a major Christian chart (1990), 2023 #1 Cashbox Magazine single “God’s Children,” and performances with Jeff & Sheri Easter, The Marksmen, The Lewis Family, Dottie Rambo, The Nelons, and many more Dove Award winners and Gospel Music Hall of Fame members.

More information about Randall Franks is available at www.RandallFranks.com and on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube (@RandallFranks).

About the Georgia Gospel Country & Bluegrass Association
A 30-year-old northwest Georgia non-profit, the GGCBA encourages artists of all ages through concerts, competitions, and educational opportunities. Through it’s history, it was a chapter of the North America Country Music Association, Int’l. Find the GGCBA on Facebook.

About Randall Franks:
Randall Franks is an award-winning musician, actor, and director known for his contributions to Americana, folk, gospel, and bluegrass music. Franks inspires audiences with heartfelt performances and a commitment to preserving musical traditions. His television show, Appalachian Sounds, showcases the rich heritage of Appalachian music, featuring his band and other talented artists and is found at Randall Franks TV on YouTube and Rumble. He is currently producing the upcoming collaborative album “A Zippedy Doodle Day : American Folk Songs” including stars of country, bluegrass, folk, Americana and gospel music supporting Appalachian Music Scholarships.