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Scottish pianist (1920–1980) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson (2 May 1920 – 4 May 1980)[1] was a Scottish pianist and composer who achieved notability in the Britain of the 1950s.[2]
Joe "Mr. Piano" Henderson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joe Henderson 2 May 1920 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 4 May 1980 (aged 60) London, England |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1935–1980 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Easy listening, British dance band, traditional pop |
| Labels | Polygon Pye |
Henderson was taught to play the piano by his classically-trained mother and left the family home in Kirkcaldy to become a professional musician at age 15, playing in dance bands.
After World War II, he began working for the Peter Maurice publishing company. It was there that he met the singer Petula Clark in 1947.[2] In 1949, Henderson introduced Clark to Alan A. Freeman, who, together with her father Leslie, formed the Polygon record label, for which she recorded her earliest hits.
Clark and Henderson later had a romantic relationship, which is said to have broken up because he did not want to be "Mr. Petula Clark".
In 1955, Clark suggested Henderson be allowed to record his own music, and he enjoyed two chart hits on Polygon, "Sing It With Joe" and "Sing It Again With Joe", both medleys of popular songs.[2]
Joe wrote the incidental music and several songs for three British films that featured Petula Clark: "Made In Heaven" (1952), "The Gay Dog" (1954) and "The Happiness of Three Women" (1954).
In 1957, George Hamilton IV scored a hit with Henderson and Jack Fishman's composition "Why Don't They Understand", a song they wrote about Henderson's relationship with Petula Clark. She later went on to record the song in 1965, Other artists who have recorded the song are Cliff Richard (1965), Patty Duke (1966), Frankie Avalon (1969), Bobby Vinton (1970) and The Williams Brothers (2002), amongst others.
Henderson later penned "There's Nothing More To Say" about the split with Petula Clark, which she later went on to record as an album track.[3]
Henderson's biggest hit was "Trudie", which made number 14 in the UK Singles Chart,[1] and number 1 in the sheet music chart, where it was the biggest hit of 1958. The song won him an Ivor Novello Award.[2]
He also wrote the music for the 1960 British film Jazz Boat, for which he received a Certificate of Honour at the 1959 Ivor Novello Awards.
Joe's TV appearances included Tonight at the London Palladium and the Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club, and he was often at the top or near the top of the bill for stage shows during summer seasons in UK cities including Blackpool, Bournemouth, Great Yarmouth, Margate and Hastings.
He continued to work through the 1960s and 1970s - including TV and stage appearances, presenting a weekday afternoon show on BBC Radio 2 and appearing in pantomime as Buttons in the 1968/69 Gaumont Theatre production of "Cinderella" - right up until his death on 4 May 1980.[4][5]
In 1994, a previously unreleased 14-minute medley of Clark singing while accompanied by Henderson, recorded circa 1958, was found in the Pye Records vaults and released on her compilation CD, The Nixa Years: Volume 2.
He died of a heart attack on 4 May 1980, two days after his 60th birthday.[4][6]
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