Malvin M. Franklin was born to German father Richard Franklin, a commercial salesman, and his Pennsylvania born wife Rosa (Pollock) Franklin in Atlanta, Georgia. A younger brother, Raymond, was born when Mal was four. The family moved to Anniston, Alabama where he had some of his primary schooling. His first piano teacher there was Carl Schmidt. The Franklins moved again to Cairo, Illinois, on the banks of the Mississippi River, in 1901. For many years his father worked in the mail order liquor business. (Hide extended text)...(Read all) Source : Wikipedia