its owner, Oskar Kashama. A few weeks later, needing a name for a contract, the band used OK Jazz, from the place it had begun (it has also been said that O.K. stood for Orchestre Kinois, or the band of Kinshasa), and they were "baptized" under that name at a June 6, 1956 show at the O.K. Bar. While clarinetist Jean Serge Essous was the original leader of O.K. Jazz, Franco was a prolific songwriter; Essous called him a "kind of genius" for having written over a hundred songs in his notebooks at that time. O.K. Jazz quickly became a rival to the leading established local band of that time, African Jazz under Joseph Kabasele. In December 1956, after some personnel changes, the new (and short-lived) lineup of O.K. Jazz released a rumba written by Franco' that would become the band's motto: "On Entre O.K., On Sort K.O." In 1957, O.K. Jazz lost its leader, Essous, as well as original vocalist Philippe "Rossignol" Lando, when they were hired away by Bowane for his new record label, Esengo (Bowane had left Loningisa after being outshone there by O.K. Jazz). While vocalist Vicky Longomba became the band's new leader, Franco also stepped up. In 1958, after O.K. Jazz returned to Leopoldville after a year in Brazzaville, Franco was arrested and jailed for a "motoring offence." Upon his release, he regained and reinforced his local reputation as the "Sorcerer of the Guitar." His guitar technique was so influential that by the end of the 1950s and for years afterward, Congolese guitarists were divided into two camps, one led by Franco and the other led by Docteur Nico of Joseph Kabasele's African Jazz. Through the 1960s, Franco and O.K. Jazz "toured regularly and recorded prolifically." By 1967 Franco was a co-leader of the band, with vocalist Vicky. When Vicky left in 1970, Franco became the sole leader of the band. And then, another change to Tout Puissant O.K. Jazz (T.P.O.K. Jazz) (which stands in French for The Almighty O.K. Jazz) In 1978, Franco was imprisoned for two months by Zaire's President Mobutu for the lyrics to his songs "Helene" and "Jackie." Later the same year, however, President Mobutu decorated him for his musical contributions. Luambo recorded a 21-minute track, “Na Lingaka Yo Yo Te”. It is the longest song recorded by a Congolese artist. Franco played in the United States once, in 1983, appearing