Lyle “Skitch” Henderson was born 96 years ago today. Henderson was a pianist, conductor and composer. His nickname (Skitch) reportedly derived from his ability to quickly re-sketch a song in a different key. Henderson started his professional career in the 1930s playing piano in the roadhouses of the American Midwest, his major break being as an accompanist on a 1937 MGM promotional tour featuring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. Henderson later said that as a member of MGMs music department, he worked with Garland to learn Over the Rainbow during rehearsals for The Wizard of Oz and played piano for her first public performance of the song at a local nightclub before the film was finished. After the war, he worked for NBC Radio, where he was the musical director for Frank Sinatras Lucky Strike Show. He was also accompanist on Philco Radio Time with Bing Crosby on the new ABC network. Henderson also played on Bob Hopes Pepsodent Show. The origin of his nickname is often traced to this period, with Henderson crediting the invention to Bing Crosby who said he (Henderson) should have a nickname. Crosby settled on Skitch, which came from The Sketch Kid, referring to Hendersons ability to quickly transcribe music to a written score. In a career at NBC spanning 1951 to 1966, he succeeded Arturo Toscanini as music director for NBC Television and was the original conductor of the orchestras for The Tonight Show and The Today Show. Henderson served as the original bandleader for The Tonight Show with founding host Steve Allen (as well as for Allens Sunday-night variety show), then came back to Tonight after the departure of host Jack Paar and his orchestra director José Melis. Henderson left Tonight again in 1966, during Johnny Carsons early years as host, and was replaced first by Milton DeLugg and then trumpeter Doc Severinsen, who headed the NBC orchestra until Carsons 1992 retirement. In 1983, he founded The New York Pops orchestra, which makes its home at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He served as the music director and conductor of the orchestra until his death in 2005. Henderson also conducted numerous symphonic orchestras throughout the world. Henderson died in 2005 at age 87. In this interview with Frank Beacham backstage at the Apollo Theatre in 2002, Henderson recalled his days at NBC and the first on-air solo by a black performer, Clark Terry, in the early 1950s. He held no nostalgia for those days.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 05:44:36 +0000
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