“So be my guest, you’ve got nothing to lose—won’t you let me take you on a sea cruise?”

The lyrics to Frankie Ford’s 1959 hit “Sea Cruise” are embedded in the DNA of every lover of New Orleans music. The irrepressible, eternally youthful Frankie is a legend in the realm of rock ‘n’ roll. At least I thought so.

Before heading across the river to Frankie Ford’s Gretna home, I informed a younger colleague that I was...