Michael Henderson

Michael Henderson (born 1951) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist best known for his bass playing with Miles Davis in the early 1970s, on early fusion albums such as A Tribute to Jack Johnson, Pangaea, and Live-Evil, as well as series of R&B/soul hits in the mid to late 1970s.

Biography

He was one of the first notable bass guitarists of the fusion era as well as being one of the most influential jazz and soul musicians of the past 40 years. In addition to Davis, he has played and recorded with Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, the Dramatics, Doctor John, among many others. He is considered to be one of the greatest bass guitarists based in Detroit, along with Bob Babbitt and his primary influence, James Jamerson.

Before working with Davis, Henderson had been touring with Stevie Wonder, whom he met at the Regal Theater in Chicago while warming up for a gig. Davis saw the young Henderson performing at the Copacabana in New York City in early 1970 and reportedly said to Wonder simply "I’m taking your fucking bassist." After almost seven years with Davis, Henderson focused on songwriting and singing in a solo career that produced many hit songs and albums for Buddah Records until his retirement in 1986. Although known primarily for ballads, he was an influential funk player whose riffs and songs have been widely covered. His solo recordings have sold well over one million albums. A track titled "Wide Receiver" on an album of the same name is highly favored by breakdancers. The album, along with others, was reissued in 2015. He is also known for his ballad vocalizing on several Norman Connors hit recordings, including "You Are My Starship" and "Valentine Love", performed with Jean Carn.

Michael Henderson (disambiguation)

Michael Henderson is a musician.

Michael Henderson may also refer to:

Michael Henderson (doctor)

Michael Henderson (born 1937) is a physician who has made contributions to motor vehicle safety. After moving from the UK to Australia, Henderson headed the new Traffic Accident Research Unit in the Department of Motor Transport in New South Wales. He wrote an early book on safety in motor racing and was involved in the design of a Pininfarina racing car built with the intent of increasing safety.

Biography

Henderson was born in 1937 in Woking, UK and graduated from Cambridge and St Thomas' Hospital. Henderson's career in safety began with his work in aviation research with the Royal Air Force. In 1968 he released a seminal book, Safety in Motor Racing. Henderson's book was influenced by his race medical experience and his accumulation of racing statistics. In 1969, Henderson was part of a team of experts that worked with Pininfarina and Automobil Revue to design a safe racing car known as the Sigma Grand Prix. Tony Davis of Drive.com.au said that the Sigma "was almost certainly the first racing car to take safety seriously."

Make It Easy on Yourself

"Make It Easy on Yourself" is a popular song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David which was first a hit for Jerry Butler in 1962 and has since been a Top 40 single for the Walker Brothers, for whom it was a #1 UK hit, and Dionne Warwick.

Jerry Butler

Chicago-based Vee-Jay Records head A&R man Calvin Carter brought back "Make It Easy on Yourself" from a trip to New York City scouting song publishers. Carter played the demo, featuring Dionne Warwick's vocal, for Vee-Jay artist Jerry Butler who commented: "Man, it's a great song, and the girl who's singing it, and the arrangement, is a hit." When Carter explained that Florence Greenberg, the owner of Scepter Records who'd recently signed Warwick, was not interested in "Make It Easy on Yourself" Butler recalls being "ecstatic" and, wanting the same arrangement featured on the demo flew to New York City to record the song in a session overseen by Burt Bacharach (although Bacharach's official credit was limited to arranger). "Make It Easy on Yourself" was released in June 1962 to reach reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 that August; the track's R&B chart peak was #18.

Michael Henderson (rugby league)

Michael Henderson is a retired Australian rugby league player. He played for the St George Illawarra Dragons and Gold Coast Titans in the Australian National Rugby League. His position was prop.

Career

Henderson played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons from 2003 to 2006. He then signed with the Gold Coast Titans and was a part of the inaugural Gold Coast Titans team that debuted on 18 March 2007. He then broke his leg during a game for the Gold Coast Titans in 2007, but returned the following year and performed well enough to have his contract extended until 2012. Henderson returned to St. George Illawarra for the 2013 season but due to several reoccurring injuries was forced to retire from the NRL after only making one further appearance for the club.

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Mick Henderson

Michael Robert Henderson is a former football player, coach and manager. Primarily a defender, Henderson also played professionally in midfield, and spent most of his professional career in England's Football League.

Starting his career as a schoolboy at Sunderland, Henderson played a part in their promotion to the First Division in 1976, before transferring to Watford in 1979 for £120,000. He made 67 appearances for Watford in all competitions, but was a backup to Pat Rice during Watford's 1981–82 promotion to the First Division. At the end of that season, he joined Cardiff City, and later played for Sheffield United and Chesterfield. Towards the end of his time at Chesterfield, Henderson player-coached and briefly managed the team, before moving into non-league football with Matlock Town. Following his retirement from football, Henderson became a police officer.

References

Michael Henderson (writer)

Michael Henderson (born 1958) is a British journalist, born in Manchester, raised in Bolton and educated at a preparatory school in Derbyshire and then at Repton School. Originally purely a sportswriter, he has since diversified into a wider range of cultural journalism.

He began his career writing for various local newspapers, initially covering Rochdale F.C.. Later, he graduated to The Times, where he reported extensively on both cricket and football. In 1999 he moved to The Daily Telegraph as cricket correspondent, before joining the Daily Mail as a general sportswriter in 2002.

He has contributed sporting and general commentary to The Daily Telegraph, and for some time had a sports column on Thursdays and a more general column on Saturdays, but he ceased to regularly contribute to the Telegraph in April 2008. He has continued to contribute occasionally to the other papers he previously worked for, as well as The Wisden Cricketer and The Spectator.

Henderson has also freelanced for The Guardian and The Observer.