Michael Earl Henderson (July 7, 1951 – July 19, 2022) was an American bass guitarist and vocalist. He was known for his work with

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

in the early 1970s and on early fusion albums such as '' Jack Johnson'', '' Live-Evil'', and ''

Agharta Agartha (sometimes Agartta, Agharti, Agarath, Agarta, Agharta, or Agarttha) is a legendary kingdom that is said to be located in the Earth's core. It is related to the belief in a hollow Earth and is a popular subject in esotericism. History The ...

'', along with a series of his own R&B/soul hits and others featuring him on vocals, particularly the

Norman Connors Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is pos ...

-produced hit " You Are My Starship" in 1976 and other songs in the mid to late-1970s.

Early life

Michael Earl Henderson was born on July 7, 1951, in Yazoo City, Mississippi. In the early 1960s he moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, playing as a session musician.

Career

Henderson was one of the first notable bass guitarists of the fusion era as well as being one of the most influential

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

musicians of the past 40 years. In addition to Davis, he played and recorded with

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown (music style), Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...

, the Dramatics, among many others. 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 A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

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

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

s, he was an influential funk player whose riffs and songs have been widely covered. He is also known for his ballad vocalizing on several

hit recordings, including "You Are My Starship" and "Valentine Love", performed with Jean Carn.

Personal life and death

At the time of his death, Henderson was in a relationship with DaMia Satterfield, and separated from his wife, Adelia Thompson. He had three children, and lived in the Atlanta suburb of Dallas, Georgia, where he died from cancer on July 19, 2022, aged 71.

Solo discography

Studio albums

Singles

Collaborations

With Miles Davis

* '' The Cellar Door Sessions'' (1970) * '' A Tribute to Jack Johnson'' (1971) * '' Live-Evil'' (1971) * '' On the Corner'' (1972) * '' In Concert: Live at Philharmonic Hall'' (1973) * '' Big Fun'' (1974) * '' Get Up with It'' (1974) * ''

'' (1976) * ''

Pangaea Pangaea or Pangea () was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous approximately 335 millio ...

'' (1975) * '' Dark Magus'' (1977) * '' The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions'' (Columbia Legacy, 2003) * ''

The Complete On the Corner Sessions ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' (Columbia Legacy, 2007) * '' Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4'' (Columbia Legacy, 2015)

With Stevie Wonder

* '' Live at the Talk of the Town'' (1970)

With The Dramatics

* '' Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get'' (1971)

References

External links

*
Funk: United States
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Michael 1951 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American male musicians African-American guitarists American blues singers American funk bass guitarists American jazz bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American male jazz musicians American male singers American rhythm and blues bass guitarists Ballad musicians Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) Guitarists from Detroit Guitarists from Mississippi Jazz musicians from Michigan Jazz musicians from Mississippi People from Dallas, Georgia People from Yazoo City, Mississippi Singers from Detroit Singers from Mississippi The Lucky Strikes members