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Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson (2 May 1920 - 4 May 1980)[1] was a Scottish pianist, composer and recording artist who was a household name in Britain in the 1950s, 60s and 70s .[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 the 1950s, Joe was a regular on Britain's "Tin Pan Alley", the nickname given to the music industry based in Denmark Street, Soho (London). He can be seen in this short 1951 film accompanying Petula (starts at 4 mins 12 secs in): TIN PAN ALLEY (1951)
In 1955, Clark suggested that 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).
He can be seen playing a medley of movie tunes in this clip from Episode 17 of 1956 TV show "Fanfare" (starts at 5 mins 12 secs): FILM FANFARE - NO 17
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.
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Joe was interviewed by Roy Plomley for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs (broadcast on Mon 17 Jul 1972), in which he talks about how he got into music and the composing process. You can here the extracted speech from the interview via the following BBC link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009nbly
Joe collapsed suddenly at his home in West London from a heart attack on the morning of 4 May 1980, two days after his 60th birthday. Sadly, despite her efforts, his wife Joyce (née Greenaway) was unable to revive him.[4][6]
- "Dancing Cheek To Cheek" (1959) - Pye Records NSPL 83006
- "Joe 'Mr Piano' Henderson With Geoff Love & His Orchestra And The Williams Singers" (1961) - Pye Records
- "Sing Along From The Shows" (1962) - Parlaphone PMC 1182
- "Winifred Atwell and Joe 'Mr Piano' Henderson – Party Time With Winnie And Joe" (1962) - Pye Golden Guinea
- "Join In With Joe" (1966) - March Arch MAL 638
- "Plays Around The World" (1967) - Marble Arch MAL 685
- "Greatest Pop Hits" (1968) - Polydor
- "The Hits of 1968" (1968) - Mercury
- "Around The Piano With Joe Henderson And His Friends" (1969) - Fontanta SFL 13180
- "Sing-In" (1969) - Mercury 20153SMCL
- "Secret Love And Other Unforgettable Hits Of The 50s" (1972) - Columbia Two 369
- "Join In And Swingalong With" (1974) Spark SRLM 109
- "40 All Time Singalong Party Hits" (1975) - Warwick Records
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