Willie Henderson

Who is Willie Henderson?

Willie Henderson is an American soul musician. Henderson moved to Chicago with his family while still a child, and began playing the baritone saxophone. He gigged with Otis Rush, Syl Johnson, Alvin Cash, and Harold Burrage while in his twenties, and began working for Brunswick Records in 1968. Henderson and producer Carl Davis did arrangements for musicians such as The Chi-Lites, Jackie Wilson, Tyrone Davis, and Barbara Acklin; Henderson played on many of these records and also did some production work himself. Henderson co-wrote the tunes "I Made a Mistake" and "Slow Motion" with Johnny Williams, the latter of which became a Top Ten hit in the US. Henderson released a few singles, which included the Lowrell Simon-written 1974 instrumental "Dance Master", "Funky Chicken", "Break Your Back" b/w "Same", and "Gangster Boogie Bump" b/w/ "Let's Merengue". He also released the full-length Funky Chicken on Brunswick in 1970.

Henderson left Brunswick in 1974 and began working independently as a producer. He produced the group Essence for Epic Records, continuing to produce into the 1980s and occasionally self-releasing singles on his label, NowSound. He formed the Chicago Music Organization in 1999, and still occasionally performs in the Chicago area.