Henderson started piano at the age of six and his brother, Horace, also a bandleader and arranger, tells of how his parents stressed practicing. "My mother and father used to lock him up to practice when he was six or seven, and they'd hear noise, then there would be silence and they'd open the door and there would be Fletcher curled up on the floor sleep." By the time Henderson was in high school, he was an accomplished pianist. He matriculated from Atlanta University (Atlanta, GA), and then moved to New York City to attend graduate school at Columbia University to further pursue a career in Chemistry. In New York, he became immediately involved in popular music when he was hired as a song plugger by the W.C. Handy music publishing company. When Handy's partner, Harry Pace, left to form the Black Swan Record Company, Henderson went along and became the record company's musical director. (Ethel Waters made her recording debut on Black Swan's very first r ecord, "St.Louis Blues".) Black Swan was short-lived, 1920 - 1924. It was absorbed by J. Mayo Williams, a Paramount Records recording director. Later, in 1927, he founded another Black recording enterprise called 'Black Patti' which did not last out the year. Vocalion Records then hired Williams as a Talent Scout. Under-financing was the bane of these Black recording companies. The market was clearly there.

In private correspondence, Mr. Bernhard Behncke, has noted that the late Walter C. Allen, in his book: 'Hendersonia', discovered that Fletcher's band opened at the Club Alabam In January 1924. The sidemen included: Teddy Nixon on trombone; Howard Scott and Elmer Chambers were on trumpets; Don Redman and Coleman Hawkins were on saxes as well as a 3rd saxist not now remembered (It was Redman who actually did many of the 'Henderson charts'). The rhythm section consisted of Fletcher himself on piano; Bob Escudero on Tuba; Charlie Dixon on banjo and Kaiser Marshall on drums. The rhythm section stayed the same for many years, while Coleman Hawkins stayed with Fletcher for a decade.

In 1926, Henderson was the very first "act" to open at New York City's then new 'Savoy Ballroom' (March 12, 1926). In March, 1926, Fletcher had Russell Smith, Joe Smith and possibly Luke Smith in the trumpet section, Charlie "Big" Green on trombone, Buster Bailey, Don Redman and Coleman Hawkins, reeds, Fletcher Henderson, Piano, Charlie Dixon, banjo, Ralph Escudero, tuba and Kaiser Marshall, drums.

In 1927: the band had: Trombonists Jimmy Harrison, Benny Morton; June Cole was on Tuba; Kaiser Marshall on drums; Dixon on banjo; the sax section had Don Pasquall, Buster Bailey and Coleman Hawkins. Tommy Ladnier, Joe Smith and Russell Smith were the trumpeters. 1931 found another Fletcher Henderson orch, this time with sidemen: John Kirby, bass; Coleman Hawkins, Russell Procope and Edgar Sampson on saxes; Rex Stewart, Bobby Stark and Russell Smith held down the trumpet chairs; Clarence Holiday was on guitar; J.C.Higginbotham and Sandy Williams on Trombones; Walter Johnson was the drummer, and Fletch was on the Piano and leader.

Some historians have attributed the Invention of 'Swing' to Fletcher. This is not completely accurate. Fletcher (or what may be more probable, -"Don Redman", his arranger) invented the concept of "Block Passages". This is where a section, say the reeds, play the same line together. Later, this came to be commonplace with the big Swing bands. Fletcher joined Benny Goodman when his own orchestra disbanded and, at that time, he contributed many of the scores that his own band had been playing in the 1920's, and so this 'block passages' technique was also apparent in Benny's charts. Still other historians note that while Benny did in fact use many Henderson scores, he didn't use them till later. When Goodman first formed his own band, Henderson contributed two songs, -King Porter Stomp' and one other, he didn't give Benny the Henderson band's 'book' until sometime after 1934/35, when he joined the Goodman orchestra as pianist-arranger. Interestingly, Benny's earliest "book" was due to such men as Spud Murphy and Jimmy Mundy (who are now rarely credited for their excellent concepts). None of this should detract in any manner whatsoever from Henderson's importance not only to Benny's success, but also to Swing in general. Rather it is meant to show that no one person "invented" Swing. It was the normal evolution of the music, -from Bix Beiderbecke establishing the worth of the Solo, to Armstong's extending the Solo and "routining the routine" to Henderson/Redman's use of 'block passages', to Goodman's/Murphy's/Mundy's use of 'Riffs' in the Brass section, -- all this finally culminated in "Swing". Benny, in his last televised concert, paid public tribute to the work of Fletcher Henderson in building the early Goodman orchestra's fame (but, perhaps, should have also greatly credited Don Redman). But, as we have seen, it is more probable that the 'invention' of 'Swing' was due to the work of many musicians in the normal evolution of Jazz.
  "Chinatown, My Chinatown", (535 kb): The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. Rec'd: Oct. 3, 1930, New York, NY. Columbia 2329-D. (Composers: Jean Schwartz, William Jerome)

Fletcher's joining the Goodman band was a notable occasion; it was the first time that a 'White' band hired a 'Black' man to work on stage with the orchestra. (A little later, Charlie Barnet would follow Goodman's lead when he used such fine musicians as John Kirby and Teddy Wilson, among others). (As an aside, -on their cross-country tour, Goodman's band met with such little success that he decided to disband the orchestra 3/4s of the way through the tour. But, he was persuaded to finish the tour and then disband in Los Angeles. When the orchestra played their first date in the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles, the kids went absolutely wild over the 'Swing' sound. It was the start of the Big Band Era.)

Again, it should be emphasized that one of Henderson's great contributions to popular music is now little recalled. It was Henderson (or possibly Don Redman, or both) who took the freewheeling New Orleans Jazz sound of trumpet and trombone and clarinet front line and incorporated it into the big band by making each instrument the lead of a 4-man section. And, together with a 4 man rhythm backing, this format was able to carry forward the drive and syncopation of the original New Orleans jazz bands, eventually culminating in the "Swing" of Benny Goodman, and then others. In addition, many of the wonderfully talented young musicians who first worked with Henderson would go on to great careers with other 'Swing' bands.

[ Horace Henderson Orch. ]
b. Nov. 22, 1904 Cuthbert, GA, USA. d. August 29, 1988 Denver, CO, USA.
Overview
Pianist; Arranger; Bandleader. Fletcher Henderson's younger brother.
Studied at Atlanta University and at Wilberforce University. While at college Horace led a band known as the Wilberforce Collegians which included Benny Carter and Rex Stewart. He led bands at various times from the 1920's through the 1940's and continued performing into the 1970's. Made first records in the early 1930's for Parlaphone. Horace was a 'Fatha' Hines influenced pianist, whom some historians consider superior to his brother Fletcher, but he lacked Fletcher's fluency as an arranger.

In 1931, he joined Don Redman as pianist/arranger. From 1933 to 1936, he played frequently with his brother Fletcher's band and like his brother, wrote many arrangements (ca. 1935) for the Benny Goodman band, including "Japanese Sandman", "Big John Special", "Dear Old Southland", "Always", "Walk Jennie Walk"; "Chicago", and "I Found A New Baby".

In the late 1930's, working mostly in Chicago, he again led his own band. with vocalists incl. Viola Jefferson and Harold Johnson . The band recorded for Vocalion and Okeh Records. Among the personnel in this band were Ray Nance, Israel Crosby and Emmett Berry. He played and did arrangements for brother Fletcher's band at various times from 1931 to 1947, among which were "Chirstopher Columbus" parts of which were later incorporated into "Sing, Sing, Sing", a song credited to Louis Prima while he was with Benny's band.

Horace led his own band in 1940, and in 1941, he did some arranging for Charlie Barnet's band ("Little John Ordinary" and "Charleston Alley", etc.) Also in 1941, he toured as pianist and musical director for vocalist Lena Horne. During the 1944-45 period, he was in Los Angeles recording with small groups for Capital Records. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he led a small band, in Chicago, tuned to the R & B market. They recorded for Decca (and others), but the band offered little musical interest. In 1958, he led his own combo in a Minneapolis, MN club.

During his long career, he had also written for such orchestras as Tommy Dorsey; Glen Gray; and Jimmie Lunceford.
The above notes on Horace Henderson were kindly supplied by Mr. Robin Lenhart.

   [ Luther Henderson Orch. ]
Currently No Information available
Though Luther was born in Kansas City, he is probably best recalled today for his work in the Broadway theater where he led 'Pit' bands and arranged music for various Broadway shows including "Top Banana", and "Beggar's Holiday". Luther also worked on the ballet music for the very successful show "Flower Drum Song". At one time, he played in the Leonard Ware Trio. Henderson also arranged some dance sets for Duke Ellington, did orchestrations for the show "Tropical Review", and did some vocal arranging for famed vocalist Lena Horne. His band was heard on some Columbia Recordings.

   [ "Skitch" Henderson Orch. ]
b. Jan. 27, 1918, b. Halstad, MN, USA, d November 1, 2005, New Milford, Connecticut, USA. (natural causes)
Theme Song: "Anita"
né: Lyle Russell Cedric Henderson, Pianist, Bandleader
"Skitch" was certainly a colorful character, with many details of his life unclear. Various newspaper obituaries, as well as many "official" biographies have him born in Birmingham, England, taught to play the piano by his mother, and to have moved to the US in the 1930s. There are problems with this scenario. One problem is that the official census, and other sources, have him born in Halstad, Minnesota, and his mother died when he was two years old. (He was raised in Minnesota by his aunt, Hatty Gift)

Henderson has told interviewers that he received classical training under Arnold Schoenberg, and Albert Coates. The difficulty here is that there is no reference whatsoever in the extremely well-documented Schoenberg archives that reflect even the slightest association with Henderson, nor is there any reference to Henderson in the Coates archives. (Coates moved to South Africa the 1940s and died there in 1953.)

In the 1930s, while still a teen, he worked many musical jobs, but fortune smiled on in 1937 when he was working with a small band in Denver CO. An MGM troupe came through with Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney 'plugging' a new MGM series about a boy named Andy Hardy. When the leader of the MGM troupe's orchestra became ill, Frank Burkett, manager of the band in which Skitch was playing, took Skitch to the MGM group and told them that "he can read music"...that was his only recommendation. 10 minutes later, he was part of the MGM troupe on the road. Henderson later claimed he rehearsed Garland for the Arlen tune "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", and that he even played piano for her first public performance of the song at a local nightclub prior to the film's completion. Regretfully, this account differs with the memoirs of the tune's composer, Harold Arlen.

In his own biography, Henderson states that he joined the British Royal Air Force when World War Two began and served as a fighter pilot before becoming a U.S. citizen, and joining the U.S. Army Air Corps as a bomber pilot. Sadly, this cannot be confirmed since no official record exists listing the precise RAF or U.S. unit in which he claimed to have served. In fact, he was living in Los Angeles, CA, all during WWII.

"Skitch" also had some legal problems, most notably for tax evasion for the years 1969 and 1970 over claims that he donated a $350,000 music library to the University of Wisconsin. At the time, he claimed that he had consulted with Leonard Bernstein and Henry Mancini on the value of his collection. However, when questioned, both of them denied the claim. The matter was further complicated when a signature on an acceptance letter from the library's director was deemed to be a forgery. On July 2, 1974, he was indicted on charges of tax evasion, and on January 17, 1975, Henderson was sentenced to serve 6 months in prison and fined $10,000. On April 9, 1975, he began serving his sentence and was released on August 4, 1975.

Over his career, Henderson made 100s of recordings, spanning the 78RPMs to DVDs era. On radio, he was heard on such shows as 'California Melodies' (1940), 'Songs by Sinatra' (1946), 'I Deal in Crime' (1946), 'Philco Radio Time' starring Bing Crosby (1946), 'Best of All' (1954), 'United States Air Force Presents' (1969) and 'Skitch Henderson With the Music Makers'. He appeared in over a dozen films (1948-1995), usually portraying himself as the bandleader.

During 1947 - 1949, he toured with his own dance band. His big band was very short lived. It ended in 1949, when Skitch became Frank Sinatra's musical director (a job he had held before). Nancy Read was the girl vocalist. (Nancy also recorded 2 or 3 songs for the Benny Goodman Orchestra in the 1950s)

He had at least two radio shows, The Skitch Henderson Show (1950-52) and Strictly Skitch (1952-53). In 1952, he was named the NBC network musical director.

He also appeared in many TV shows. Skitch conducted the Tonight Show Orchestra from 1954-'57, when Steve Allen was host, and again 1962-'66 when Johnny Carson hosted.

He was a guest conductor for a number of symphony orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and the London Philharmonic, and was also music director for the New York opera "Street Scene". Joining ASCAP in 1958, his instrumental compositions include "Skitch in Time", "Skitch's Blues", "Minuet on the Rocks", "Come Thursday", and "Curacao". In 1963, he conducted a Grammy winning recording for RCA of George Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess', with Leontyne Price and William Warfield.

  VIDEO: "(L-R) Skitch Henderson (piano), Mills Bros, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Collins, and Charles Aznavour"   It's New Year's Eve, 1966, and some pretty classy singers have gathered to review the hits of the fading year. In an amazing display of talent, Dorothy Collins, Bing Crosby, The Mills Brother, Charles Aznavour and Skitch Henderson perform a wide variety of music as they perform "A Man and Woman", "Mame", "Shadow of Your Smile", "Somewhere My Love", "Taste of Honey", "These Boots Are Made for Walking", "Michelle", "Batman theme", and "That's Life". Bing closes with some nice thoughts for the new year of 1967. (film clip: jamesrstewartaz)

On Feb. 27, 1998, Skitch had a 80th Birthday party show at NY Carnegie Hall. Reporters Mike Wallace (CBS) and Liz Smith (Daily News) were the hosts. Many musical stars showed up, including Julius LaRosa and Tony Martin. Tony sang "Tenement Symphony" (Bernard Herman). It was quite a thrill for Skitch as he recalled his teen years, sitting in the MGM band playing that tune as Tony sang it originally in a Marx Brothers movie.

In more recent years, he was conductor of The New York Pops Orchestra that often appeared at New York's famed Carnegie Hall. On January 29, 2005, the Smithsonian awarded him the 'James Smithson Bicentennial Medal' in recognition of his contributions to American culture. He was also the recipient of three honorary degrees - from St. Thomas Aquinas College, the University of South Florida, and Western Connecticut State University. Henderson also received New York City's 'Handel Medallion' for his role in the cultural life of the city.

   [ Ray Herbeck and his Music with Romance Orch. ]
b. Nov. 27, 1910, Los Angeles, CA, d.Jan. 17, 1989, Phoenix, AZ.
Theme: "Romance" (Vocalion 5197, rec. 1939)
Here's a photo of Ray Herbeck, who played saxophone and clarinet in high school; studied dentistry at USC but left school during the depression. He formed his band in 1935 with friend, - Claude Bunzell. Herbeck became the "leader" because Bunzell wished to concentrate on writing the bands 'book' and didn't want to front it. The band originally played 'sweet' music.

Their first job was at The Cafe de Paris in Los Angeles which had a tie-in with a local CBS radio station. The radio broadcasts helped the band to get a job at the Tahoe Tavern in Lake Tahoe where the clubs PR man began advertising the band as 'Ray Herbeck and His Music of Romance' taking liberty with the theme song, "Romance".

When Herbeck switched from sweet music to Swing, in 1941, he changed the tag line to 'Modern Music With Romance'. Ralph Wingert did the arranging during the swing period. From 1941 to early 1942, the band began working primarily on the east coast. After WW2 was declared, Herbeck's band played at over 300 military bases stopping only when he broke up the band in 1943 after being drafted.

When the war ended, he formed a new band that again played sweet music. (His girl vocalist was Lorraine Benson, whom he later married. Lorraine was born April 19, 1920 in Pocatello, Idaho, hence her nickname of, "Pokey." She died August 10, 1996, in San Dimas, CA. Prior to joining "Ray Herbeck & His Music With Romance," Lorraine Benson sang with Jan Savitt and, I believe, recorded one side with him. It was called "Breathless." ) Alto-saxman James Baker did the arrangements for this band until Herbeck broke it up in 1957. Previously, in 1955, with the end of the 'Swing' era, Ray had already begun to dabble in Los Angeles Real Estate sales. He had been using a 7 piece band that for the past several years was only able to go out on 'one- nighters' a few times each month. When he disbanded in 1957, Herbeck moved to Phoenix and became a full time real estate salesman.

Sadly, Ray passed away in 1989, in Phoenix, AZ, while his lovely wife Lorraine died in 1996, in San Dimas, CA. Both are buried in the Veterans Administration Cemetary in Phoenix, AZ. Over his career, Ray's various bands (sweet, swing, and the post-WW2 mix of the two) recorded more than 200 sides for Okeh, Vocalion and Columbia. Some CDs of his works are still available from Glendale Records in Burbank, CA, and also two Herbeck CDs on George Buck's Circle Records, are still available.

Recorded for:
Vocalion, Okeh, Columbia, Four-Star, Bullet
Vocalists incl'd.:
George Van, Ray Olsen, Betty Bronson, Kirby Brooks, George Winslow, Hal Munbar, Gloria King, Yvonne Walker, Lorraine Benson
Sidemen incl'd.:
Benny Stabler (t), Al Caiola (g) [Stabler later became musical director for the Holiday On Ice shows]
The BigBands Database thanks Mr. Ray Herbeck Jr. for his contributions to this entry on his father's band, originally submitted by Mr Robin Lenhart.

   [ "Woody" Herman and the Herman Herd(s) ]
b: May 16, 1913, Milwaukee, WI, USA. d: October 29, 1987, Los Angeles, CA, USA (age 74. pneumonia,then Cardiac Arrest.)
Instrument: Clarinet
Theme Song:
Early On: "Blue Prelude"
Later On: "Blue Flame"
Here's a photo of Woody, in the early 1940s.
Here's a photo of Woody, in his later years.
Listen to this [ Herman's Herd ] .wav file audio Clip.
né: Woodrow Charles Herman (not Woodrow Wilson Herman)
In 1919 at the age of six, he was reportedly tap dancing and singing in theaters and clubs in Milwaukee. He began studying the saxophone at age nine. About 1930, he joined the Tom Gerun band, and left for the west coast. He left Gerun and joined Harry Sosnik, Gus Arnheim and Isham Jones bands. When Jones gave up the band due to illness, the Jones sidemen stayed together forming a cooperative unit with a corporate structure that included Woody as its president and leader. In the trade, Herman's first band was also known as the "Jones Alumni Association". Even those men who did not come over with him, helped out; Gordon Jenkens threw in some free arrangements, and so forth. The band was styled as "The Band That Plays the Blues". Subsequently, Woody would go on to lead big bands in the 1930s, '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s, and into the late '80s, until shortly before his demise

By mid-1937, the band picked up momentum with coast-to-coast radio broadcasts from New York City's Roseland Ballroom. A couple of years later, the band really became popular with their hit recording "Woodchopper's Ball" for Decca Records, boosting it into the ranks of the nation's top bands.

By the early '40s, the band had changed to more swing. Early on, Herman had handled most vocals in the earlier band, but he now hired Mary Ann McCall, Carol Kay, and later, Muriel Lane as vocalists. Here's a Kriegsmann Promotional photo of another of the 'First Herd' vocalists Frances Wayne (1924-1978), He also made history by hiring two female musicians to his all male band. Billie Rogers joined as trumpet player, and vocalist and Marge Hyams as vibrophonist.

By 1944, the band was a leading exponent of the emerging 'Progressive Jazz' style, a coming sensation, calling itself "The Herman Herd", and changing to the Columbia record label. Numerous hits were forthcoming with great Jazz instrumentals like "Bijou", "Apple Honey", "Northwest Passage" and "Wild Root." "Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe" was a 1945 record hit sung by Frances Wayne coupled with a Jazz novelty "Caldonia" sung by Herman.

(Indicative of his wonderful character, is a remark that I recall hearing from Woody. He said the band had been having some 'troubles'. He was walking thru the lobby of a hotel when it struck him. Most of the guys in the orchestra were hooked on drugs. Their lives were ruined. Woody said that this struck him so hard, that he was forced to duck into a nearby telephone booth, where he broke down and wept for half an hour, before he could continue on his way. ---mlp)

The Second Herd was formed in late 1947-9 with the Jazz hit "Four Brothers" featuring a new reed section of Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward and Serge Chaloff. In mid-1950s, The Third Herd was organized. The great arrangement and danceable tune, "Early Autumn" was recorded for Capitol records and also the jump arrangement of "More Moon". The band had a European Tour in 1954. Herman often used young but capable musicians. His theme song "Blue Flame" cotinued having replaced "Blue Prelude" many years before. Herman had great rapport with advanced musicians. Later, Herman recorded for Mars records and had another big hit, a progressive jazz arrangement of an old tune, "Stompin' At The Savoy."

Herman played long engagements during the swing years at The Hotel New Yorker, Sherman Hotel's Panther Room in Chicago, Frank Dailey's Meadowbrook in New Jersey, etc. In 1941, Herman had a mid-July opening of the new Hollywood Palladium with a draw of 4800 patrons, second only to Glenn Miller's 5200. Breaking attendance records there, his band was the first to be held over (from its scheduled booking). In 1946, the band played New York's famed Carnegie Hall, and the Herman band placed No.1 in the Downbeat, Metronome and Esquire polls. For several years, he appeared to be vying with Stan Kenton to have the loudest, most brassy band in the business.

During the sixties, seventies and well into the eighties, Woody Herman was one of the few band leaders who remained steadily active playing one nighters and concerts. In more recent years, Woody was recording for the Concord Jazz, Inc., label.

Tragically, Herman was a poor business man and had others supposedly looking after his financial affairs. IRS liens were filed against his home which were foreclosed as he travelled on the road. He returned to home to find no home. Shortly, he became ill and died in the hospital. The newspapers reported that the Duke Ellington family contributed funds to pay off debts of Herman's last illness.

Woody Herman left a daughter who became administratrix of the estate. She lived in Memphis and contracted with long time saxophonist, and sideman Frank Tiberi to lead the band, and so far as I know the band continues in existence to this day. In addition to playing clarinet and alto sax, Woody began playing soprano sax in later years.

As a tribute to Woody Herman, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce enhanced the legend by installing a gold star bearing Woody's name as part of its Walk of Fame sidewalks at the southwest corner of Hollywood and Highland Boulevards in Hollywood, California.
The Big Bands Database Plus thanks Mr. Lawrence Kloess for the above entry on Woody Herman.

   [ Tal Henry and his North Carolinians ] Instrument: Violin.
Currently no information on this band.
Tal had one of the bands working during the late 1920s, who were momentarily popular, but soon forgotten. (Other such bands of this period included the Phil Baxter, Billy Hays, "Doc" Daugherty, Paul Tremaine Orchestras, and Henny Hendrickson's Louisville Serenaders.) The band also recorded. One of our readers, Ms Tina Thompson, owns a Tal Henry recording of "Carioca" (from the movie "Flying down to Rio") on the Bluebird Label #B-5366-A , and on the flip side #B-5366_B, "I Can't Go On Like This", with vocal refrain by Taz Wolte. The film "Flying Down To Rio" starred Lupe Velez and Gene Raymond. It is interesting to note that besides some great tunes such as the above "Carioca", and the wonderful Tango, "Orchids in the Moonlight" (sung by Raul Julien), this film was the very first to feature Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing together. ("Carioca" was a 'production number'.)

Here's a photo of the Tal Henry and his North Carolinians, as they appeared in a 1929 Vitaphone Short (Running time was just 9 minutes and the band played just 3 songs "Shame On You", "Come On Baby", and "Milenberg Joys"). The band was recorded by Victor ("My Song of Songs For You" - 21404), and they can be heard on a recent Victor CD release Four Four Rhythm: Victor Territory Bands, Vol. 1 has Tal's orchrestra playing "Found My Girl". The band was also recorded by Columbia ("Little Bo Peep Has Lost Her Jeep" - 35668).