Up for auction "Ain't Got No Home" Clarence "Frogman" Henry Signed 8X10 B&W Photo.
ES-7557E
Clarence
Henry II (born March 19,
1937), known as Clarence "Frogman" Henry,
is an American rhythm and blues singer
and pianist, best known for his hits "Ain't Got No Home" (1956) and "(I Don't Know Why) But I
Do" (1961).
Clarence Henry was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, in 1937, moving to the Algiers neighborhood
in 1948. He started learning piano as a child, with Fats Domino and Professor Longhair being
his main influences. When Henry played in talent shows, he dressed like
Longhair and wore a wig with braids on both sides. He joined Bobby Mitchell & the Toppers in
1952, playing piano and trombone, before leaving when he graduated in 1955 to
join saxophonist Eddie Smith's band.
He used his trademark croak to improvise the song "Ain't Got No Home" one night in 1955. Chess Records' A&R man Paul Gayten heard the song, and had Henry record it
in Cosimo Matassa's studio in
September 1956. Initially promoted by local DJ Poppa Stoppa, the song
eventually rose to number 3 on the national R&B chart and number 20 on the US pop chart The gimmick earned Henry his nickname of 'Frogman' and
jump-started a career that endures to this day. He toured nationally with a
six-piece band until 1958, and continued to record. A cover of Bobby Charles' hit "(I Don't Know Why) But I
Do", and "You Always Hurt the One
You Love", both from 1961, were his other big hits.Henry opened
eighteen concerts for the Beatles across
the US and Canada in 1964, but his main source of income came from the Bourbon Street strip in New Orleans, where he
played for nineteen years. His name could still draw hordes of tourists
long after his hit-making days had ended. He still plays at various
conventions, including the New Orleans
Jazz & Heritage Festival.