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.
St.Louis Blues
Frankie Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hate to see that evening sun go down
Cause my baby, he's gone left this town
Feelin' tomorrow like I feel today
If I'm feelin' tomorrow like I feel today
I'll pack my truck and make my give-a-way
Pulls that man around by her, if it wasn't for her and her
That man I love would have gone nowhere, nowhere
I got the St. Louis blues, blues as I can be
That man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me
I love my baby like a school boy loves his pie
Like a Kentucky colonel loves his mint 'n rye
I love my man till the day I die
In Frankie Ford's St. Louis Blues, the singer expresses a sense of sadness and desperation over the departure of his or her lover from the town. The singer hates to see the evening sun go down because his or her lover has left, and the looming darkness symbolizes the loneliness he or she feels. The singer feels as if tomorrow will bring nothing new, and if he or she feels the same way in the morning, it could lead to a drastic action like leaving town.
The song also mentions the St. Louis woman, who is portrayed as a wealthy woman with a diamond ring. She has power over the singer's lover and is the reason he left the town. The singer has the St. Louis blues, meaning he or she is feeling very low emotionally. The singer compares his or her lover's heart to a rock that is cast in the sea, indicating that the lover has gone too far away and has become untouchable. However, the singer remains in love till the day he or she dies, like a school boy loves his pie or a Kentucky colonel loves his mint 'n rye.
Line by Line Meaning
I hate to see that evening sun go down
I feel sad when the evening sun sets
Cause my baby, he's gone left this town
Because my lover has left me and gone away
Feelin' tomorrow like I feel today
I'll feel the same way tomorrow as I am feeling today
If I'm feelin' tomorrow like I feel today
Assuming I feel the same way tomorrow as I do today
I'll pack my truck and make my give-a-way
I'll leave and start a new life elsewhere
St. Louis woman with her diamond ring
A woman in St. Louis who has a fancy diamond ring
Pulls that man around by her, if it wasn't for her and her
She controls her man, and if it wasn't for her influence over him
That man I love would have gone nowhere, nowhere
The man I'm in love with would be lost and directionless without her
I got the St. Louis blues, blues as I can be
I'm feeling a deep sense of sadness and loneliness
That man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
The man I love is emotionally hardened and unreachable
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me
Otherwise he wouldn't have left and gone so far away from me
I love my baby like a school boy loves his pie
I love my lover with great passion and devotion
Like a Kentucky colonel loves his mint 'n rye
Like a person with refined taste loves their favorite drink
I love my man till the day I die
I will love my lover until the end of my life
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, HANDY BROTHERS MUSIC CO.,INC.
Written by: William Christopher Handy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind