CLARENCE " FROGMAN " HENRY
Biografía del artista por Bill Dahl
Podía cantar como una niña, y podía cantar como una rana. Ese último graznido característico, utilizado al máximo en su exitoso debut de 1956 "Ain't Got No Home", le valió a su amable apodo Clarence Henry su apodo y comenzó una carrera gratificante que duró más de 40 años en Crescent City.
Naturalmente, Fats Domino y el profesor Longhair fueron las principales influencias del joven Clarence Henry mientras crecían en Big Easy. Tocó el piano y el trombón con Bobby Mitchell & the Toppers desde 1952 hasta 1955 antes de ponerse al día con la banda del saxista Eddie Smith . Henry improvisó la idea básica detrás de "Ain't Got No Home" en el quiosco de música una mañana de madrugada; Cuando la multitud respondió favorablemente, lo convirtió en algo único. Paul Gayten (hombre de New Orleans A&R para Chess Records) estuvo de acuerdo, empujando a Henry al estudio de Cosimo Matassa en septiembre de 1956. El DJ local Poppa Stoppa le puso el mango " Frogman " al joven cuando hizo girar los 45 (emitidos en la filial de Chess) Argo), y se pegó.
A pesar de algunos buenos seguimientos: "No durará mucho", "Estoy enamorado", la secuela inevitable "Encontré un hogar", Frog se hundió en el pantano en cuanto a ventas hasta 1960, cuando Allen El arreglo actualizado de Toussaint se combinó maravillosamente con una composición de Bobby Charles teñida de country llamada "(No sé por qué) Pero lo hago". La interpretación de Henry de la melodía resultó ser un gran éxito pop a principios de 1961, al igual que un dominó "You Always Hurt the One You Love" más tarde ese año.
Frogman continuó grabando una variedad de viejos estándares al estilo de Nueva Orleans y originales pegadizos para Argo (Chess reunió un álbum de Henry que presumía de lo que podría ser la peor portada en la historia del rock & roll), incluso grabó en un momento con el saxista de Nashville Botas Randolph y pianista Floyd Cramer . Pero los éxitos se agotaron definitivamente después de 1961. Henry abrió 18 conciertos para los Beatles en los Estados Unidos y Canadá en 1964, pero su principal fuente de ingresos provino de la franja de Bourbon Street, donde tocó durante 19 años. Es posible que aún lo encuentre reviviendo alegremente sus clásicos en el Festival de Jazz y Patrimonio de Nueva Orleans, con su graznido que sigue siendo tan profundo y melodioso como siempre.
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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 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.
Con THE BEATLES
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.[3] The gimmick earned Henry his nickname of 'Frogman' and jump-started a career that endures to this day.[1]
He toured nationally with a six-piece band until 1958, and continued to record.[2] 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.[4]
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.
Honors
Henry's pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In April 2007, Henry was honored for his contributions to Louisiana music with induction into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
Secondary references and re-use of hits
The Band recorded a version of Henry's trademark song "Ain't Got No Home" for their 1973 album Moondog Matinee. Henry's original of the song was later featured on the soundtrack of the 1982 film Diner. It was used in a famous bathtub scene in the cult movie The Lost Boys with actor Corey Haim singing along to it. Rod Stewart uses the chorus of "Ain't Got No Home" in his 1984 single "Some Guys Have All the Luck". It achieved fresh notoriety in the 1990s through its use as the "Homeless Update" theme music on The Rush Limbaugh Show, and is still used as recently as December 7, 2017. The song is in the movie Casino playing in the background as Joe Pesci asks Robert De Niro for a 50K chip marker. Jimmy Buffett referenced Henry in his song "Saxophones". Henry made a cameo appearance on the third season opening episode of the HBO series Treme.
On his Live/Indian Summer album, Al Stewart introduced his song "Year of the Cat" with an odd anecdote about a mistaken-identity encounter involving Henry, Audrey Hepburn, and G. Gordon Liddy.
Material loss
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Clarence "Frogman" Henry among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
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