Frankie Ford - Complete Releases 1958-62 (2023)

Frankie Ford was one of the artists often referred to as being typical of “swamp rock” – the style of R&B and rock ’n’ roll that was associated with Louisiana and New Orleans during the late 1950s. Born in Gretna, Louisiana, across the Mississippi from New Orleans, he was playing in a band when he was spotted by an artist manager who took him to Johnny Vincent’s Ace label in Jackson, Miss. For his second release, Vincent had him record the vocal for Huey ‘Piano’ Smith’s song “Sea Cruise” for which Smith had recorded the backing track, but was now away on tour. The record was a Top 20 pop and R&B hit, and Ford followed up with several smaller hits, before signing to the Imperial label. This 30-track CD comprises the A&B sides of all his singles on Ace, Vin and Imperial from these years, plus the tracks from his Ace album “Let’s Take A Sea Cruise” not otherwise released on singles. It also includes his single on Vin with Mac Rebennack (Dr. John) as Morgus & The 3 Ghouls. It features his Top 20 pop and R&B hit “Sea Cruise” and his other career chart entries “Alimony”, “Time After Time”, “You Talk Too Much” and “Seventeen”. He was an artist who very much typified the musical atmosphere of New Orleans in that era, and this is a comprehensive overview of his output during these years.