Music

Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry, R&B Star Who Toured With the Beatles, Dies at 87

I FOUND A HOME

The singer was best-known for “Ain’t Got No Home,” a novelty hit from 1956 that reached No. 20 on the Billboard Top 100.

Clarence 'Frogman' Henry
Paul Natkin/Getty Images

Clarence “Frogman” Henry, the rhythm and blues musician best known for imitating a lonely frog in the 1957 hit “Ain’t Go No Home,” died on Sunday. He was 87. His death was confirmed to The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate, who said the cause was complications following back surgery. Henry recorded “Ain’t Got No Home” at 19 years-old after improvising the lyrics while on the road, playing piano and saxophone for Bobby Mitchell and the Toppers. He cycled through a number of voices on the track—his own, a squeaky falsetto, and a croaky frog voice—and it shot up the charts upon its release, landing at No. 3 on the national R&B chart and No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. He scored another hit in 1961 with “(I Don’t Know Why) But I Do,” which reached No. 4 on the Hot 100. Henry also opened for the Beatles on their swinging 1964 U.S. tour, and remained popular in his home state of Louisiana, becoming a fixture at the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Henry had been set to perform at the festival next month, according to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, which announced his death “with profound sadness” on Monday.

Read it at The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate