CLARENCE "FROGMAN" HENRY "The Complete Argo Recordings"

He could sing like a girl, and he could sing like a frog. That latter trademark croak, utilized to the max on his 1956 debut smash "Ain't Got No Home," earned good-natured Clarence Henry his nickname and jump-started a rewarding career that endures to this day around the Crescent City.
Naturally, Fats Domino and Professor Longhair were young Clarence Henry's main influences while growing up in the Big Easy. He played piano and trombone with Bobby Mitchell & the Toppers from 1952 to 1955 before catching on with saxist Eddie Smith's band. Henry improvised the basic idea behind "Ain't Got No Home" on the bandstand one morning in the wee hours; when the crowd responded favorably, he honed it into something unique. Paul Gayten (New Orleans A&R man for Chess Records) concurred, hustling Henry into Cosimo Matassa's studio in September of 1956. Local DJ Poppa Stoppa laid the "Frogman" handle on the youngster when he spun the 45 (issued on the Chess subsidiary Argo), and it stuck.
Despite some fine follow-ups -- "It Won't Be Long," "I'm in Love," the inevitable sequel "I Found a Home" -- Frog sank back into the marsh sales-wise until 1960, when Allen Toussaint's updated arrangement melded beautifully with a country-tinged Bobby Charles composition called "(I Don't Know Why) But I Do." Henry's rendition of the tune proved a huge pop smash in early 1961, as did a Domino-tinged "You Always Hurt the One You Love" later that year.
Frogman continued to record a variety of New Orleans-styled old standards and catchy originals for Argo (Chess assembled a Henry album that boasted what may be the worst cover art in the history of rock & roll), even recording at one point with Nashville saxist Boots Randolph and pianist Floyd Cramer. But the hits dried up for good after 1961. Henry opened 18 concerts for the Beatles across the U.S. and Canada in 1964, but his main source of income came from the Bourbon Street strip, where he played for 19 years. You'll likely find him joyously reviving his classics at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival every year come spring -- and his croak remains as deep and melodious as ever. (Bill Dahl, AMG)

trax:
01 ain't got no home 02 but i do 03 troubles, troubles 04 it won't be long 05 i found a home 06 lonely tramp 07 i'm a country boy 08 baby, baby please 09 i'm in love 10 lonely street 11 if i didn't care 12 i want to be a movie star 13 never never 14 long lost and worried 15 on bended knees 16 lost without you 17 i love you yes i do 18 come on and dance 19 dream myself a sweetheart 20 little suzy 21 two to tango 22 i wish i could say the same 23 why can't you 24 steady date 25 looking back 26 just my baby and me 27 a little too much 28 your picture 29 live it right 30 oh why 31 standing in the need of love 32 the jealous kind 33 oh mickey 34 you always hurt the one you love
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