Welcome to my website! My name is Francisco Centeno and I am a recording studio musician based in New York City and my instrument is the Electric Bass Guitar.

For those of you familiar with my recordings over the last fifty years the material on this website will come to no surprise. For those who are not familiar with my work let me humbly introduce myself:

My recording career began at the age of 15 when Motown songwriters Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson hired me to play on Valerie’s second solo album. They then hired me to play on many of their songwriting productions, so I soon found myself recording with Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye, the Dynamic Superiors, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. Soon thereafter, at the age of 17, arranger William Eaton hired me to be Aretha Franklin’s bass player.

At the age of 19 I accepted a five-month tour with Bette Midler and when I returned home, I was swamped with studio work and doing anywhere from three to seven sessions a day!

I was twice nominated for N.A.R.A. S.’s MVP award for recording studio work on the Electric Bass and I was among the top five recording studio Bass players in New York City.

Throughout this website I will try to highlight some of my best recordings and feature some of the many TV appearances I’ve had with Aretha Franklin, Dave Letterman, and the “Nightlife with David Brenner show.

I will try to update the website often as I rummage through my discography and pick out the best of my work. Thanks for coming!!