He was born in Gretna, Louisiana, as Vincent Francis Guzzo, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans, and was the adopted son of Vincent and Anna Guzzo, who named him Vincent Francis Guzzo, Jr. He learned to sing and dance at an early age, and when at high school joined a group, the Syncopators, as singer and pianist. He was spotted by manager Joe Caronna, who took him to Johnny Vincent of Ace Records. Taking the stage name Frankie Ford, he made his first recordings for Ace in 1958. He toured locally in Louisiana, before recording a vocal overdub on the song "Sea Cruise", a song written and originally recorded by Huey "Piano" Smith with his group, the Clowns, and featuring overdubbed bells and ships' horns.. As Smith already had a record in the charts, and was away touring, the record label decided to release Ford's version, and it rose to #14 on the US pop chart and #11 on the R&B chart, selling over one million copies, and gaining gold disc status.
Ford toured widely around the US, but his later records were less successful, with his versions of "Alimony" and "Time After Time" only reaching the lower reaches of the national charts. He also recorded a novelty record in praise of a local TV presenter, "Morgus the Magnificent", with musicians including Mac Rebennack and Jerry Byrne, but it failed to sell. Ace released an LP by Ford, Let's Take A Sea Cruise With Frankie Ford, before the singer moved to Imperial Records in late 1960. He recorded with producer Dave Bartholomew, and released a version of "You Talk Too Much", but Ford's recording missed out in competition with one by Joe Jones which was issued almost simultaneously. In 1961, his version of Boyd Bennett's 1955 hit "Seventeen" was Ford's last chart entry.
Ford was drafted in 1962, and performed for troops in Japan, Vietnam and Korea. He later recorded occasionally for small labels, but mainly performed in clubs in and around New Orleans. He appeared in the 1978 movie American Hot Wax, and toured in Britain and Europe, recording the album New Orleans Dynamo in London in 1984. He continued to record and perform through the 1990s. Ford co-owned the Briarmeade record label, which issued several singles and albums by him from the 1970s to the 2000s. On May 16, 2010, at the Louisiana Music Homecoming in Erwinville, Ford was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
Ford died in Gretna at the age of 76 on September 28, 2015, following a long illness.
A Certain Girl
Frankie Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What's her name?
I can't tell you
Ahh
I can't reveal her name until she's mine
What's her name?
I can't tell you
I've tried to make her time and time again
Still we're introduced as nothing but friends
There's a certain girl I've been in love with a long, long time
What's her name?
I can't tell you
Ahh
There's a certain chick I've been sweet on since I met her
What's her name?
I can't tell you
Ahh
I can't reveal her name until I get her
What's her name?
I can't tell you
Ahh
Someday I'm going to wake up and say
I'll do anything just to be your slave
There's a certain girl I've been in love with a long, long time
What's her name?
I can't tell you
Ahh
There's a certain girl I've been in love with a long, long time
What's her name?
I can't tell you
Ahh
I can't reveal her name until she's mine
What's her name?
I can't tell you
Ahh
I've tried to make her time and time again
Still we're introduced as nothing but friends
There's a certain girl I've been in love with a long, long time
What's her name?
I can't tell you
Ahh
The lyrics of Frankie Ford's A Certain Girl are about a man who has been in love with a particular girl for a long time but has not been able to pursue her. He refuses to reveal her name until she is his. He has tried to make his move on her several times but has always been introduced to her as just a friend. He is sweet on her and dreams of one day being her slave.
These lyrics are a symbol of unrequited love that many people can relate to. The singer not being able to tell the girl's name creates a sense of mystery about her, which further intensifies his love for her. It is almost as if he is cherishing her name in his heart until he can finally call her his own. The song has a feel-good pop vibe, but the lyrics convey a deeper, emotional message.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a certain girl I've been in love with a long, long time
I have been in love with a particular girl for a very long time, but I can't reveal her name to you yet.
What's her name?
Can you tell me the name of the girl I am in love with?
I can't tell you
I cannot reveal the name of the girl I love because she is not mine yet.
Ahh
An expression of disappointment or frustration.
I've tried to make her time and time again
I have attempted to win her over many times, but nothing has worked yet.
Still we're introduced as nothing but friends
Despite my feelings for her, we are only introduced as friends and nothing more.
There's a certain chick I've been sweet on since I met her
There is a particular girl I have had a crush on since I met her, but I can't tell you her name yet.
I can't reveal her name until I get her
I won't give you her name because I need to get her first.
Someday I'm going to wake up and say I'll do anything just to be your slave
One day I'll wake up and realize I love this girl so much I'll do anything for her, even become her slave.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ALLEN TOUSSAINT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind