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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. "Sea Cruise" actually began life as a Huey "Piano" Smith song with Bobby Marchan on vocals, but producer Johnny Vincent had the inspired idea of dubbing Ford's singing on top of Smith's backing track. "Sea Cruise," with its bleating foghorn and irresistible piano groove, was an impossible act to follow, and Ford never approached the Top 20 again. But he cut several more gutsy sides for Ace that featured top New Orleans players like Huey Smith and saxophonist Red Tyler; one of the best, "Roberta," was covered by the Animals in the mid-'60s. A few of his singles found him following ill-advised swing jazz and teen idol directions, and he faded from view in the 1960s, although he made a cameo appearance in the film version of Alan Freed's life.
from Wikipedia:
Frankie Ford (born August 4, 1939) 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" (b/w "Roberta"), 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.
Frankie Ford was featured as a stellar singer from New Orleans, on the Southern Stars poster created by Dianna Chenevert to promote him and historically document his contribution to the music industry. On October 12, 1983 USA Today reporter Miles White highlighted Ford as one of the famous entertainers on the poster, which helped give him more nationwide attention.
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.
