Fattening Frogs for Snakes

Sonny Boy Williamson recorded Fattening Frogs for Snakes in Chicago on February 8 1957 for Checker. The session featured Williamson on vocal and harmonica with a Chess studio band including Lafayette Leake on piano, Robert Lockwood Jr and Luther Tucker on guitars, Willie Dixon on bass, and Fred Below on drums. Released by Checker in 1957, Fattening Frogs for Snakes became one of Williamsons best known Chess-era singles. Its sharp proverb-based lyric and taut band performance showed his command of comic menace and amplified Chicago blues arrangement. Fattening Frogs for Snakes became a Sonny Boy Williamson standard and remained prominent on later Chess compilations. The songs title phrase and slippery harmonica-driven groove helped secure its place among his most recognizable recordings.