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Willie Henderson | |
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| Genres | R&B, soul music, funk |
| Occupation(s) | Record producer, musician |
| Instrument(s) | Saxophone |
Willie Henderson (born August 9, 1941 in Pensacola, Florida) is an American R&B and soul musician and producer.
|
Willie Henderson | |
|---|---|
| Genres | R&B, soul music, funk |
| Occupation(s) | Record producer, musician |
| Instrument(s) | Saxophone |
Willie Henderson (born August 9, 1941 in Pensacola, Florida) is an American R&B and soul musician and producer.
Henderson moved to Chicago with his family while still a child, and began playing the baritone saxophone. He gigged with local artists like Otis Rush, Syl Johnson, Alvin Cash, and Harold Burrage while in his twenties. In Chicago Brunswick Records employed four R&B arrangers: Willie Henderson, Tom Washington, James Mack and Sonny Sanders [1] .
Henderson and producer Carl Davis([ citation needed ]) did arrangements for musicians such as Chi-Lites, Tyrone Davis, The Artistics, Jackie Wilson [2] and Barbara Acklin.[ citation needed ] Henderson played on many of these records and also did some production work himself, especially for Tyrone Davis, with whom he had a string of R&B and Hot 100 hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s on Brunswick subsidiary, Dakar.
Henderson also released several singles, which included "Funky Chicken (Part I)", as Willie Henderson and the Soul Explosions (#22 R&B, #91 pop); the Lowrell Simon-written 1974 instrumental "Dance Master", "Break Your Back" and "Gangster Boogie Bump", on Playboy Records. He also released two albums on Brunswick in 1970 and 1974.
Henderson left Brunswick in 1974 and began working independently as a producer. He produced the group Essence for Epic Records and former Brunswick singer, Barbara Acklin for Capital Records.
In 1970, Willie Henderson & The Soul Explosions released the single "Funky Chicken (Part 1)" bw "Funky Chicken (Part 2)" on Brunswick 755429. [3] For the week ending February 7, 1970, Willie Henderson & the Soul Explosions' "Funky Chicken (Pt. 1)" had entered the Record World Top 50 R&B chart at #45. Also, on that week in the same chart, Rufus Thomas's single, "Do the Funky Chicken" had moved up from #41 to #26. [4] It was also at #1 on the Nor Cal One Stop (San Francisco) chart, ahead of Rufus Thomas's version which was at #2. "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel was at #3. [5]
Two singles that Henderson produced "Love Uprising" by Otis Leavill (Dakar 620) and "Let Me Back In" by Tyrone Davis (Dakar 621) were released in October, 1970. [6]
In a Record World article dated May 12, 1973, it was confirmed that Henderson had resigned from the Chicago branch of Brunswick Records where he held the positions of music director and producer. He was now heading his own production company, Now Sound Rfecords. With nothing set in concrete for national distribution, he had taken on veteran record administrator Don Clay as his administration assistant. One role for Clay was to set policies for the new label. One new act he had already signed to his label was night club performer and singer, Ms. Azie Mortimer. Henderson was also releasing his own recording "Dance Master" on the label. [7]
He produced the single "I Wish It Was Me" for Tyrone Davis. Reviewed in the Hits of the Week section of Record World's Jan 5, 1974 issue, the reviewer said it was every bit as good as David's hit from the previous year, "There it Is". The review also said that it was a terrific Henderson production full of hit sounds and riffs. [8]
For the week ending July 13, 1974, funky instrumental "Dance Master Part 1" was at #95, and had been in the Cash Box Top 100 chart for two weeks. [9] It entered the Record World Singles chart at #85 on June 22. [10] "Dance Master" had also moved up from #65 to #53 on the Record World R&B Singles chart. [11]
He and Hilltak Records president Hillery Johnson put together a group called Broadway [12] that had four female singers, with the lead singer was Patti Williams. They were signed to the Hilltak label. [13] [14] He co-composed most of their album which was released on the label. [15] In April, Broadway brought in another chart hit for Hilltak Records with Henderson's composition, "This Funk is Made for Dancing" which got to #83 on the R&B chart. [16]
Henderson produced funk band Magnum Force's album "Share My Love" with Carl Davis. He continued to produce into the 1980s and occasionally self-releasing singles on his label, NowSound. He formed the Chicago Music Organization in 1999.
As of 2016, he was still booking gigs and was in the horn section of the Otis Rush tribute at the 2016 Chicago Blues Festival. [17]
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2012) |
With Bo Diddley
With Donny Hathaway
With Eddie Harris
Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916.
Chicago soul is a style of soul music that arose during the 1960s in Chicago. Along with Detroit, the home of Motown, and Memphis, with its hard-edged, gritty performers, Chicago and the Chicago soul style helped spur the album-oriented soul revolution of the early 1970s.
Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records. He is best known for his novelty dance records, including "Walking the Dog" (1963), "Do the Funky Chicken" (1969), and "(Do the) Push and Pull" (1970). According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, "Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist, and from the early 1940s until his death . . . occupied many important roles in the local scene."
Tyrone Davis was an American blues and soul singer with a long list of hit records over more than 20 years. Davis had three number 1 hits on the Billboard R&B chart: "Can I Change My Mind" (1968), "Turn Back the Hands of Time" (1970), and "Turning Point" (1975).
All Platinum Records was a record company started in 1967 by singer/writer/producer Sylvia Robinson and her husband, businessman Joe Robinson, who had previously worked in the recording industry.
Chi-Sound Records is an independent record label set up in 1976 by established Chicago record producer Carl Davis. He had been involved in the music industry since the early 1960s working with locally based labels, including Vee-Jay and Okeh, a subsidiary of the major Columbia Records. He produced Gene Chandler's number One hit, "Duke Of Earl" for Vee-Jay. Later, as A&R chief for Okeh, he produced a run of hits with writer/singer Curtis Mayfield, for another Chicago artist, Major Lance, including "The Monkey Time" and "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um". Davis left Okeh after it was merged with Epic Records in a dispute with Epic management over side projects outside Epic/Okeh.
Barbara Jean Acklin was an American soul singer and songwriter, who was most successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her biggest hit as a singer was "Love Makes a Woman" (1968). As a songwriter, she is best known for co-writing the multi-million-selling "Have You Seen Her" (1971) with Eugene Record, lead singer of the Chi-Lites.
Van Allen Clinton McCoy was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and singer. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful hit "The Hustle". He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his credit, and produced songs by such recording artists as Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Stylistics, Aretha Franklin, Brenda & the Tabulations, David Ruffin, Peaches & Herb, Lesley Gore, and Stacy Lattisaw.
Nat Tarnopol was an American record producer. He played a vital role in producing and shaping R&B music throughout the 1960s and 1970s as the president of Brunswick Records, a subsidiary label of Decca Records. Responsible for launching the careers of The Chi-Lites, Jackie Wilson, Tyrone Davis, Barbara Acklin and The Young-Holt Unlimited, Tarnopol scored 150 songs on the Billboard charted singles between 1957 and 1981.
"Turn Back the Hands of Time" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Tyrone Davis. It was co-written by Jack Daniels and Bonnie Thompson and produced by Willie Henderson.
Otis Leavill was an American R&B singer, songwriter and record company executive.
Dalton & Dubarri was an American rock band active in the 1970s, led by Gary Dalton and Kent Dubarri. They mainly played as support acts for artists such as The Beach Boys, Elvin Bishop, The Doobie Brothers, Loggins and Messina, Dave Mason, Boz Scaggs, and Rod Stewart. The group incorporated various aspects of pop, rock, and soul into their music. Recording for Columbia, ABC, and Hilltak, they released four original albums during their career. In 1979, they had a hit with the disco single "I Can Dance All By Myself", which made the Billboard, Cash Box, and Record World charts.
Carl H. Davis, Sr. was an American record producer and music executive, who was particularly active in Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s. He was responsible for hit R&B records by Gene Chandler, Major Lance, Jackie Wilson, The Chi-Lites, Barbara Acklin, Tyrone Davis and others.
"Sexy Ida" is a single released by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner on United Artists Records in August 1974. It features two versions, the A-side "Sexy Ida " and the B-side "Sexy Ida ."
Hillery Johnson was a record label owner, record producer, manager and songwriter and vice-president of a major record American record label.
Tom Takayoshi was a record label founder as well as a president of a major United States record label. His involvement in the music industry goes back to the early 1960s.
Hilltak records was a Californian Independent record label that was formed in the late 1970s. Artists that produced hits for the label include 9th Creation, Patti Hendrix, Broadway, Dalton & Dubarri, and The Guess Who. The label started out as a subsidiary of Atlantic Records but terminated the relationship some time later.
Broadway was an American disco band that had three chart hits. Produced by Willie Henderson they had a national hit in 1978 with their version of the "Exile hit, "Kiss You All Over". They had another chart hit with "This Funk Is Made For Dancing"
Patti Hendrix is a soul singer who recorded for the 20th Century Fox Records and Hilltak Records labels. She had a hit in 1978 with "Lighting A Fire ". It made it into the Billboard, Cash Box and Record World charts.
This Funk Is Made For Dancing was the second hit for disco band Broadway on the Hilltak Label. Composed, arranged and produced by Willie Henderson. It made both the Billboard and Cash Box charts in 1979.
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