117 | 23 December 2023
Rock and roll and Rhythm and Blues singer and pianist Vincent Francis Guzzo Jr. (Frankie Ford) was born in Gretna, Louisiana (across the Mississippi River from New Orleans) on August 4, 1939 and adopted by Vincent and Anna Guzzo. He took up singing and dancing while at school and joined a group called The Syncopators at High School.
He will be forever known as the singer of “Sea Cruise” which earned him a gold disc, but unfortuately later recordings were less successful. He was drafted in 1962 and performed for US forces in Japan, Viet Nam and Korea. In 1989 he toured Europe and the UK.
Frankie Ford died in Gretna, Louisiana following a long illness on September 28, 2015
What’s Going On, Ace 592, single, 1960. Watch Dog, Ace LP track. Sue issued this record on WI 369. July 1965.
Chart position: These titles did not chart.
Sue Records UK 
I love ‘What’s Going On’, as much for the rollicking Huey Smith Ork.- dig the jazzy bit at the end – as for Frankie’s vocal. ‘Watchdog’ I’m not so sure about….this wasn’t an original 45 pairing in the States, where the two tracks were the final two on side one of Frankie’s ‘Let’s Take A Sea Cruise’ L.P. in Ace. ‘What’s Going On’ did come out as a B side a bit later, but ‘Watchdog’ was never a U.S. single as far as i know.
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