Bill Henderson, Vocal jazz Artist

Born in Chicago, Illinois, USA

Genre: Vocal Jazz, Blues

Bill Henderson’s (March 19, 1926 – April 3, 2016) began his professional music career in 1952, performing in Chicago with Ramsey Lewis. His big break in the music industry came when he joined the Vee-Jay record label and recorded his first album “Bill Henderson Sings” (1959).

Henderson also sang with Gillespie, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Quincy Jones, and the Charlie Haden Quintet. His 1963 recording “Bill Henderson with the Oscar Peterson Trio” remains a classic in the jazz vernacular. He was a fixture on the Playboy circuit in the 1970s and appeared often at many jazz festivals.

“Henderson’s phrasing is virtually his own copyright,” Leonard Feather observed. “He tends to space certain words as if the syllables were separated by commas, even semicolons; yet everything winds up as a perfectly constructed sentence.” His voice was deliberate and thoughtful, feeling all the way through, but still natural and smooth.

Although known mostly for his music, Henderson also ventured into acting. His stage credits include film and television projects such as “City Slickers,” “Maverick,” “Lethal Weapon 4,” “Buckaroo Banzai,” “White Men Can’t Jump,” “Smiling Fish & Goat on Fire,” “ER,” “Hill Street Blues,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Happy Days,” “Sanford and Son,” “The Jeffersons,” “Good Times,” “MacGyver,” “Benson,” “NYPD Blues” and “My Name Is Earl.”

Biographical information courtesy of Variety…