Bill Henderson (performer)

Bill Henderson
File:William Randall Henderson.jpg
Born	William Randall Henderson (1926-03-19)March 19, 1926 Chicago, Illinois
Died	Los Angeles, California
Cause of death	Advanced Alzheimer's Disease
Years active	1952–2016

William Randall "Bill" Henderson (March 19, 1926 – April 3, 2016) was an American jazz singer and actor in television and film.

Biography

Henderson was born in Chicago, Illinois. Henderson began his professional music career in 1952, performing in Chicago with Ramsey Lewis, and began recording as a leader after a move to New York in 1958. He subsequently recorded with jazz pianist Horace Silver on a a vocal version of Silver's "Señor Blues" which was a jukebox hit (in the mid-1950s), and remains one of jazz label Blue Note's top-selling singles. Additionally, Henderson performed and recorded with Oscar Peterson (Bill Henderson with the Oscar Peterson Trio), Jimmy Smith, Count Basie, Yusef Lateef, and Eddie Harris. He was under contract to the Vee Jay label between 1958 and 1961, who recorded his first album as leader, Bill Henderson Sings (1958), which features trumpeter Booker Little among the sidemen.

Beginning in the mid-1970s, he frequently appeared on television in supporting, usually one-time roles. His film roles have followed a similar trend — minor and supporting roles. Henderson also recorded his own vocal tracks as "King Blues" for the comedy film Get Crazy (1983). Henderson made a guest vocal appearance on Charlie Haden's album The Art of the Song (1999).

Discography

• Bill Henderson Sings (with Ramsey Lewis Trio & Wynton Kelly Sextet, arr. Benny Golson and Ernie Wilkins, Vee-Jay, 1958)
• Bill Henderson, Please Send Me Someone to Love (Eddie Harris, Joe Diorio, Rail Wilson, Vee-Jay, 1960)
• Bill Henderson, Self-titled (with Eddie Higgins Trio, Tommy Flanagan Quartet, Thad Jones Big Band, Jimmy Jones Strings, Vee-Jay, 1961)
• Bill Henderson with the Oscar Peterson Trio (piano Oscar Peterson, bassist Ray Brown, drummer Ed Thigpen, Verve, 1963)
• Bill Henderson, When My Dreamboat Comes Home (Verve, 1965)
• Bill Henderson Live in concert with the Count Basie Band (Monad, 1965)
• Bill Henderson, Live at the Times (Joyce Collins & Dave Mackay, Discovery, 1975)
• Bill Henderson Live, Joey Revisited (Steve LaSpina's, Dave Mackay, Joyce Collins, Jerry Coleman, Monad, 1976)
• Bill Henderson, Street of Dreams (Joyce Collins & Dave Mackay, Discovery, 1979)
• Bill Henderson, Something's Gotta Give (Dave Mackay, Jim Hughart, Jimmie Smith, Joey Baron, Joyce Collins, Pete Christlieb, Discovery, 1979)
• Bill Henderson, A Tribute to Johnny Mercer (with Joyce Collins & Dave Mackay, Discovery, 1981)
• Nancy Wilson Presents Great Jazz Night - Red Hot & Cool II (featuring Bill Henderson, LaserDisc, 1990)
• White Men Can’t Jump (Soundtrack, 20th Century Fox, 1992)
• Charlie Haden Quartet West, The Art of the Song (Shirley Horn, Bill Henderson, with the Charlie Haden Quartet West, Polygram, 1999)
• Mike Melvoin with Charlie Haden featuring Bill Henderson, The Capital Sessions (2000 Naim Audio Ltd)
• Bill Henderson, Live at the Kennedy Center (Ed Vodicka Trio, WebOnlyJazz, 2006)
• Beautiful Memory:Bill Henderson Live at the Vic (Tateng Katindig (p), Chris Conner (b), Roy McCurdy (d), Ahuh Productions, 2008)

Compilations:

• Bill Henderson, His Complete Vee Jay Recordings Volume 1 (Vee Jay, 1993)
• Bill Henderson, His Complete Vee Jay Recordings Volume 2 (Vee Jay, 2000)

45's:

• Bill Henderson/Horace Silver, "Señor Blues"/"Tippin'" (Blue Note, 1958)
• Bill Henderson/Jimmy Smith, "Ain't No Use"/"Angel Eyes" (Blue Note, 1958) released on CD reissue of Softly as a Summer Breeze
• Bill Henderson/Jimmy Smith, "Ain't That Love"/"Willow Weep for Me" (Blue Note 1958) released on CD reissue of Softly as a Summer Breeze
• Bill Henderson, "Sleepy"/"It Never Entered My Mind" (Vee Jay, 1960)
• Bill Henderson, "Bad Luck"/"Bye Bye Blackbird" (Vee Jay, 1960)
• Bill Henderson, "Sweet Pumpkin"/"Joey, Joey, Joey" (Vee Jay, 1960)
• Bill Henderson, "Sweet Georgia Brown"/"My How The Time Goes By" (Vee Jay, 1961)
• Bill Henderson, "When My Dream Boat Comes Home"/"Who Can I Turn To" (Verve, 1964)
• Bill Henderson, "Lay Down Your Weary Tune"/"If I Could Be With You" (Verve, 1964)
• Bill Henderson, "Bend Over Backwards"/"What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" (WB, 1970)
• Bill Henderson, "Send in the Clowns"/"Send in the Clowns" (from Live at the Times, side 1-45, side 2-33​¹⁄₃, Classic Discovery JP, 1975)

Filmography

• Trouble Man (1972) – Jimmy, Pool Room Owner
• Silver Streak (1976) – Red Cap
• Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976) – Charles Taylor
• Continental Divide (1981) – Train Conductor
• Get Crazy (1983) – King Blues
• The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) – Casper Lindley
• Clue (1985) – The Cop
• Fletch (1985) – Speaker
• Wisdom (1986) – Theo
• Murphy's Law (1986) – Ben Wilcove
• How I Got Into College (1989) – Detroit High School Coach
• No Holds Barred (1989) – Charlie
• Cousins (1989) – Valhalla Band
• City Slickers (1991) – Dr. Ben Jessup
• White Men Can't Jump (1992) – Member of the Venice Beach Boys
• Maverick (1994) – Mr. Hightower, Riverboat Poker Player
• Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) – Minister
• Hoodlum (1997) – Mr. Redmond
• Conspiracy Theory (1997) – Hospital Security
• Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) – Angry Patient
• Trippin' (1999) – Gramps Reed
• The Alibi (2006) – Counterman

Television appearances

• Happy Days
• Sanford and Son
• The Jeffersons
• What's Happening!!
• Good Times
• The Incredible Hulk
• Harry O
• Ad Lib
• The Facts of Life
• Hill Street Blues
• MacGyver
• Benson
• In the Heat of the Night
• NYPD Blue
• Mad About You
• ER
• Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
• Malcolm & Eddie
• 7th Heaven
• Cold Case
• My Name Is Earl

External links

• Bill Henderson at the Internet Movie Database
• Bill Henderson's MySpace page