Clarence "Frogman" Henry

File:FrogmanHenry1963Twist.jpg

1963 advertisement for Frogman Henry on Bourbon Street

Clarence "Frogman" Henry (born March 19 1937, Algiers, New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American rhythm and blues singer.

Fats Domino and Professor Longhair were young Henry's main influences while growing up. When Henry played in talent shows, he dressed like Longhair and wore a wig with braids on both sides.

His trademark croak, utilized to the maximum on his 1956 debut hit "Ain't Got No Home," earned Henry his nickname and jump-started a career that endures to this day. "You Always Hurt the One You Love" and "(I Don't Know Why) But I Do", both from 1961, were his other big hits.

Henry opened eighteen concerts for The Beatles across the U.S. 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. Clarence Henry's pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

In April 2007, The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame honored "Frogman" for his contributions to Louisiana music by inducting him into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame.

Secondary references and reuse of hits

Henry's trademark song "Ain't Got No Home" was 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. 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 such as late as 2008. The song is in the movie "Casino". It's playing in the background as Joe Pesci asks Robert DeNiro for a 50K chip marker.

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Influence

During an interview in his home studio, Mark Sandman of the rock band Morphine, cited Frogman as an important influence.

References

^ Burdeau, Cain (October 5, 2003), "New Orleans 'Frogman,' still jumpin' at 66", Associated Press{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

External links

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[1] Burdeau, Cain (October 5, 2003), "New Orleans 'Frogman,' still jumpin' at 66", Associated Press{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

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