Frankie Ford was born on August 1939 and adopted by Vincent and Anna Guzzo. He grew up in the New Orleans suburb of Gretna, Louisiana where he still lives. Frankie studied singing and dancing and began performing in 1945, when he was five years old appearing at local gigs with the likes of Sophie Tucker, Ted Lewis, and Carmen Miranda. He entered and won many local, regional and national vocal competitions and in 1952, he performed on The Ted Mack Amateur Hour in New York. In high school he played piano and sang for a group called The Syncopators. His early piano influences were Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Huey Smith, Fats Domino, Ray Charles and Professor Longhair. He first recorded with Joe Caronna of Ace Records, who later became his manager, and Frankie's first regional hit Cheatin' Woman was the result. During his tenure with Ace Records, he recorded the song for which he is most remembered, Sea Cruise, with Huey "Piano" Smith and the Clowns. It reached #14 on the charts in 1959, Frankie was only nineteen.

His other hits with Ace Records were Roberta, Alimony (#97), Time After Time (#75), I Want To Be Your Man, Danny Boy and What's Going On. In 1960 he moved to Imperial Records where he recorded You Talk Too Much, (a cover of Joe Jones version), Seventeen, Saturday Night Fish Fry, Dog House, The Groom, Let Them Talk, and A Man Only Does. Two years later he was drafted into the Army where he became a member of the Special Forces, entertaining troops in Vietnam, Korea and the U.S. He continued to perform and record throughout the 60's, 70's and 80's and is such an exciting performer, he became known as the "New Orleans Dynamo". He appeared in the motion picture American Hot Wax in 1978. Sea Cruise endures on radio and t.v. commercials, film soundtracks and television shows. In 1995 he returned to Ace Records and recorded the album Hot & Lonely. Frankie was recognized as the "King of Swamp Pop Music" by Louisiana Lt. Governor Melinda Schwegmann and was inducted into The Louisiana Hall of Fame, Louisiana Treasures Hall of Fame and has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from The South Louisiana Music Association. Frankie Ford continues to tour and performs 180-200 times a year in concerts, festivals, nightclubs and casinos across the country.

Website: www.frankieford.com

Return to Music Legends...