Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson

Joe Henderson ( born 2 May 1920 in Glasgow, Scotland; † 4 May 1980) was a British pianist who during the 50s in the UK as Joe "Mr. Piano " Henderson great popularity attained.

His mother brought Joe to play the piano; he was already a professional musician at 15 and played in dance bands. After the war he worked for the music publishing Peter Maurice. While working there he learned in 1947, the singer Petula Clark know. In 1949 he made ​​known Petula with Alan A. Freeman, who just founded a new record label that polygon. There Petula made ​​her first recordings.

In 1955 Petula the company boss to let Joe take their own records. That brought "Mr. Piano " two hits one: Sing It With Joe (ranked 14 in the charts ) and Sing It Again With Joe ( 18th place), both medleys of popular hits.

About this time was from Petula and Joe privately a couple. The romance took a few years and culminated professionally in a weekly BBC radio series in which they appeared together. In 1994, a 14 -minute medley was rediscovered in the Petula sings, while Joe plays the piano. It was on the album Petula Clark - published The Nixa Years Volume 2. The recording probably dates from the year 1958.

The public already speculated about a wedding of Joe and Petula. But since Petula increasingly pushed into the limelight and was already in France, and also soon in the UK, on the road to stardom, Joe ended the affair. Apparently he did not want to "Mr. Petula Clark are ". In 1962, he wrote about their separation a song ( There's Nothing More to Say - Germany: "There is nothing more to say " ) for Petulas LP In Other Words.

Joe's biggest hit was Trudie, which was in 1958 ranked 14th in the record sales charts and number 1 on the charts of Sheet music sales climbed ( and in this so-called sheet music the biggest hit of the year ). The song also won an Ivor Novello Award. After Trudie but followed only two minor hits, Treble Chance ( 1959) and Ooh! La! La! ( 1960). All were under the name of Joe "Mr. Piano " Henderson published.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Joe Henderson brought further out records and also gave concerts until he died two days after his 60th birthday, of a heart attack.