Frankie Ford - Let's take a sea cruise - ORIGINAL US PRESSING - Ace LP-1005

$

60

Frankie Ford - Let's take a sea cruise with Frankie Ford

Original Ace Records "Ultra High Fidelity" US pressing.
Ace Records ACE LP-1005
Released in January 1960.
Still in shrink with a 99 cent price sticker!

Tracks: Sea cruise / Alimony / Danny boy / It must be jelly / Watchdog / What's going on / Roberta / Can't tell my heart / Your game is over / I'm worried over you / Hour of need / Cheatin' woman

This is a wonderful and very rare LP full of hard rocking New Orleans r'n'b and soulful ballads!

The matrix number in the dead vinyl (between the runout groove) is, on side A, "477 2 PP" followed by three letters, possibly "ace",  There's also a stamp that's so small I can't see the letters. It might be "Souther" but that's just a guess.

The B side has the same stamp and the matrix no "478 2 PP" and the "ace" letters.

This record looks as if it's been played once or twice 52 years ago and then left in storage!

There are a few light hairline marks, possibly paper scuffs.

I've listened to both sides from beginning to end on my modest home stereo system (Pro-Ject entry level turntable, Cambridge amp and Mirage speakers).

I'd rate this EX+ according to the UK Record Collector grading system if it wasn't for the last two tracks on side two. There's a popping noise as if there's a scratch or dirty spot on the vinyl but I can't see of feel anything wrong there. A good vinyl cleaning machine might fix it. Unfortunately I don't have one. Nevertheless the record plays fine all the way through, without skipping.

Apart from that there's the occasional light pop and some minor surface noise that was probably there when the LP was pressed for Ace Records in Jackson, Miss. in 1959.

The cover is in great shape. The colors are as loud and bold as the title track. My picture won't do it justice. There's no cut out hole. There's a little edge wear at the bottom right corner on the front.  The back slick has faint ring wear and a few small spots near the top.

There are no seam splits!

I honestly believe you'll have a hard time finding a copy that's as good as this one.

This record comes with a full no questions asked money back guarantee. Buyer pays return postage.
.
P & P is $16 for registered mail worldwide.
I'll mail the disc outside of the cover, in a solid LP sized stiff cardboard mail
I'd be glad to answer any questions. Thank you for looking.

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Here's what Rockabilly.nl has to say about this great one hit wonder:

Born Francis Guzzo, 4 August 1939, Gretna, Louisiana

One of New Orleans's first genuine white rockers, Frankie Ford will forever be known for his 1959 hit "Sea Cruise". He was born in Gretna, a suburb of New Orleans, the adopted son of Vincent and Anna Guzzo. Bound for a career in show business, he was already taking singing and dancing lessons by the age of 5. Growing up in the New Orleans area, it was not surprising that young Frankie's biggest influences were some of the legendary names in R&B such as Fats Domino, Professor Longhair and Ray Charles.

While in high school he joined an R&B group called The Syncopators, as vocalist and piano player. Frankie was introduced to Joe Caronna, Ace Records' distributor in New Orleans. Caronna became his manager and organized his first recording session for Ace in the summer of 1958. Ace's owner Johnny Vincent convinced Frankie to change his professional name from Guzzo to Ford. The session resulted in the single "Cheatin' Woman"/ "Last One To Cry" (Ace 549). The top side was an exuberant rocker with accompaniment from the top session men in New Orleans. As most of the Syncopators had day jobs and didn't want to go on the road, Joe Caronna assembled a new backing group and Frankie started touring to promote the record, but its sales were mainly confined to South Louisiana. But Frankie didn't have to wait long for a hit. Ace's biggest act in 1958 was Huey 'Piano' Smith and the Clowns, who had scored with "Rockin' Pneumonia And the Boogie Woogie Flu" and "Don't You Just Know It" and were currently (December 1958 - January 1959) in the charts with "Don't You Know Yockomo". Huey and his Clowns had cut two sides, "Sea Cruise" and "Loberta", which Johnny Vincent considered to have hit potential, but he felt they needed some improvement. Vincent called Ford to the studio to overdub his voice onto Huey Smith's backing tracks, added overdubbed fog horns and boat bells to "Sea Cruise" and changed the title "Loberta" to "Roberta". At one point it was planned that Frankie would take over as lead vocalist with the Clowns, but Joe Caronna stepped in and said, "Look, Huey's doing fine right now with 'Don't You Know Yockomo', why not release the record on Frankie?"

So was born one of the classic records of the rock n roll era. You had to sit up and take notice. "Sea Cruise" (Ace 554) peaked at # 14 in April 1959 (# 11 R&B) and resulted in six months of touring all across America. In a way, it was a pity that "Roberta" was not held back because it would have made a perfect follow-up to "Sea Cruise". Without a second big hit, Frankie's time at the top was brief. His third and fourth single for Ace, "Alimony" and "Time After Time" (a standard performed in supper-club style) stalled at # 97 and # 75 respectively. Teaming up with two other young white New Orleans hopefuls, Mac Rebennack and Jerry Byrne, Frankie cut the novelty rocker "Morgus the Magnificent" for Ace's Vin subsidiary label. Issued under the pseudonym of Morgus and the Three Ghouls, it paid homage to a local TV host. It was popular around New Orleans, but didn't make much noise elsewhere.

In January 1960, Ace released the album "Let's Take A Sea Cruise With Frankie Ford" (Ace LP 1005), with seven tracks from previous singles and five new tracks.