Frankie Ford

Who is Frankie Ford?

Frankie Ford is an American rock and roll and rhythm and blues singer.

He is the adopted son of Vincent and Anna Guzzo, who named him Francis Guzzo. He was born in Gretna, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans, where he still lives. Ford had a Top 20 hit in 1959 with "Sea Cruise", sung to a previously recorded Huey "Piano" Smith backing track, released on Ace Records. The record sold over one million copies, gaining gold disc status.

He was known as the "New Orleans Dynamo", and still spends about 200 days a year on the road.

On May 16, 2010, at the Louisiana Music Homecoming in Erwinville, Ford was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

It's ironic that some of the greatest New Orleans R&B of the 1950s was sung by a white man. Although he could have passed for a teen idol, Frankie Ford sang with as much grit as anyone of any color in the Crescent City. He recorded some fine singles for the Ace label in the late '50s, particularly the pounding "Sea Cruise," which made the Top 20 in 1959 and remains one of the hits most identified with the classic New Orleans R&B sound.