Richard Franklin Borkan

RICHARD "RICHIE" BORKAN

ROCK ARTIST, COMPOSER

Maybe you think you have never heard of Richard Franklin "Richie" Borkan, but you have heard his music. In fact, you have been listening to him for the last four decades. His recordings and compositions have been playing all over the world for over thirty years, not only in the United States, but also in England, Europe, Australia, and Japan. In his lifetime, "Old Green Eyes", as he was affectionately known, performed with the likes of Sonny and Cher, the BeeGees, Blues Image, Jackie Gleason, and James Brown, just to name a few.He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1939, the child of Morris and Ida Borkan. When Richard was five years old, his father caught him trying to play the family's priceless Grand Piano. Instead of punishing the boy, Morris enrolled Richard in private piano lessons.At the age of eighteen, he entered the Granoff School of Music, a well-known Philadelphia conservatory. After leaving Granoff, he moved to Florida. His main aspiration in life was to be a rock and roll star. In the early 60's, he played keyboard and sang as a freelance musician, not only for rock and roll bands, but also for rhythm and blues groups. In 1960, he helped organize a group called the "Dovells", and performed on their hit single, "The Bristol Stomp". In 1966, he released "Nobody but You" and "Why Doesn't She Believe Me?" on ABC Paramount Records. As a member of a band called "Gemini and the Planets", he had a hit song named "Scopa Tone" in England.In the late 60's and in the 70's, he took part in many public performances and studio recordings, including a two month stint with D.J. Rick Shaw's TV show, as the keyboard player for the local South Florida hit rock and roll band called "The Kollektion". The name of the band's hit single, "Savage Lost", was later used as the title of a book about the Miami "Garage Band" scene. Richard was also, at the same time, in a group called "Sounds Unlimited".In the 80's and 90's he began to have chronic health problems, and went into semi-retirement, playing local venues in Dade and Broward County. He also supplemented his income by giving piano lessons privately and at local music stores. In 1996, Marian Borken (note spelling), a distant relative, began to function as his agent and manager. She became his constant companion, secretary, publicist, confidant, and eventually, his sweetheart. After a seven-year-long courtship, Richard and Marian were married on September 21, 2002.Tragically, that same year, Richard was diagnosed with liver cancer. After several hospital stays, he passed away quietly on April 16, 2003, at 6:00 a.m., at Aventura Hospital. His wife, Marian Borken, and a half-sister, Joanne Lustman, survive him. He had close ties with the local Borken family, especially the late Dr. Norman Borken,[1] his wife, Selma Borken, and their other children, Sharon, Glenn,[2] and Vicki[3]. He was a beloved member of the local musical community, and "Old Green Eyes", Richard Franklin Borkan, will be sorely missed. If you listen, you can still hear it; his music plays on.