Willie Henderson (born August 9, 1941, in Pensacola, Florida) is an American R&B and soul musician and producer whose versatile talents can be heard throughout the Brunswick Records catalog as well as a myriad of sides recorded during the '60s-'70s heydays of Chicago soul.
Born in Pensacola, Florida, Henderson's family moved to Chicago when he was a child. Taking up the baritone sax, he began backing Otis Rush and others while in his twenties. He also studied with another arranging legend, James Mack. After graduating from Crane Junior College, Henderson began playing around Chicago, backingOtis Rush, Syl Johnson, Alvin Cash, and Harold Burrage while in his twenties.
Henderson joined the Chicago branch division of New York-based Brunswick Records in 1968. Working with producer Carl Davis, Henderson arranged, produced, and played on records by the Chi-Lites, Jackie Wilson, Tyrone Davis, The Artistics, Barbara Acklin, and other Brunswick acts. Henderson played on many of these records and also did some production work himself, especially for Tyrone Davis’ "Can I Change My Mind" and another gold single, "Turn Back the Hands of Time"; the following year, Henderson co-wrote Johnny Williams' "I Made a Mistake." Three years later, Williams hit with "Slow Motion (Part 1)," a Top Ten R&B single for Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International Records.
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.
In 1974, Henderson left Brunswick to become an independent producer> He produced Barbara Acklin's only charting, post-Brunswick singles and her LP A Place in the Sun. He began working with Essence, a male vocal group, and with songs written by Jim Peterek of Ides of March and later Survivor, Henderson got a deal for the group with Epic Records. The band released eight singles, with one 45 ("Sweet Fools") charting at number 91 R&B in the fall of 1975. Henderson produced funk band Magnum Force's album "Share My Love" with Carl Davis.
Henderson continued working throughout the '70s, and during the '80s he released singles on his Now Sound label; by 1999, he had formed the Chicago Music Organization (CMO) in downtown Chicago and continued to produce, arrange, and occasionally perform with a band. In 2016 he was in the horn section of the Otis Rush tribute at the 2016 Chicago Blues Festival.
(Edited from AllMusic & Wikipedia)
