Biography of Clarence "Frogman" Henry

A bit more eccentric and unpredictable than Fats Domino, not as contemporary or inventive as, say, Lee Dorsey, New Orleans pianist Clarence "Frogman" Henry's vocals were consistently warm and humorous, his recordings always polished. Scoring an unexpected novelty hit with "Ain't Got No Home" in 1956, Henry disappeared from the charts for four years before roaring back with two smashes in the early '60s, "(I Don't Know Why) But I Do" and "You Always Hurt the One You Love." On his early-'60s singles, Clarence added beefier horn sections that occasionally reached back to the spirit of Dixieland. Crescent City legends like saxophonist Lee Allen, and pianists Allen Toussaint and Paul Gayten, cropped up on his sessions; when Henry traveled to Memphis to record, he was backed by the all-star band of Bill Justis (guitar), Boots Randolph (sax), and Floyd Cramer (piano). He went on to record a fair number of singles for Chess' Argo subsidiary until 1964 in the relaxed New Orleans R&B styles of his big hits. ~ Richie Unterberger