Alex Henderson

Michael Henderson
Do It All   [Expanded Edition]

Michael Henderson not only had a Detroit connection and a Mississippi connection back in the day—he also had a Philadelphia connection. And the Detroit and Philly connections both asserted themselves in 1979, when the multi-faceted singer, bassist, songwriter and producer recorded his fourth album, Do It All, in two famous studios: Detroit’s United Sound and Philly’s Sigma Sound.

Born in Yazoo City, Mississippi on July 7, 1951, Henderson was a pre-adolescent when he moved north to Detroit in the early 1960s. Henderson was hardly the only musician to make that Mississippi-to-Detroit transition: the late bluesman John Lee Hooker, Sr., for example, was a Mississippi native turned Detroit resident who achieved considerable fame in the Motor City. And Detroit was good to Henderson in the 1960s and 1970s. As an electric bassist, he appeared on quite a few sessions for Motown Records (before Berry Gordy, Jr. moved his label from Detroit to Los Angeles in 1972) and backed Marvin Gaye, the Detroit Emeralds, the Fantastic Four and other Motown artists. Henderson also played his bass for Stevie Wonder (one of Motown’s biggest stars) and Aretha Franklin when they were on tour, and it was during a tour with Wonder in 1969 and 1970 that Henderson met the innovative jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. Henderson enjoyed a highly productive association with  Davis during the early to mid-1970s, appearing on a long list of Davis albums that included A Tribute to Jack Johnson and Live-Evil in 1970, On the Corner in 1972 and Agharta and Pangaea in 1975.

The instrumental jazz-rock fusion that Henderson played with Davis was totally different from the vocal-oriented soul that he played with Wonder, Franklin or Gaye. But it gave him a lot of exposure in the jazz world, and in 1975, Henderson joined forces with another famous jazz musician: Philadelphia drummer Norman Connors. That’s where the Philly connection came into play for Henderson.

Connors started out playing straight-ahead instrumental jazz and was a sideman for saxophonists Pharoah Sanders and Sam Rivers, but by 1975, he was shifting his focus to vocal-oriented R&B—and Henderson played a vital role in that transition. Henderson was no stranger to R&B during his pre-Connors days, but those who heard him backing Wonder, Gaye or Franklin knew him as a bassist rather than as a singer. Connors, however, realized Henderson’s potential as an R&B singer when he featured him on the Wonder-influenced “Valentine Love” (a male/female vocal duet with Jean Carn) in 1975 and the haunting ballad “You Are My Starship” in 1976. “Valentine Love” and “You Are My Starship,” both written by Henderson, were major hits that earned Connors a lot of new fans in the R&B world and made it clear that Henderson had no problem singing romantic soul. Henderson, emphasizing R&B vocals, launched his solo career in 1976 with Solid, which was followed by his second solo album, Goin’ Places, in 1977 and his third solo album, In the Night Time, in 1978.

So considering Henderson’s success in Detroit and all the exposure he enjoyed in the employ of Philly-born Connors in 1975 and 1976, it was highly appropriate for him to record the self-produced Do It All in those two hotbeds of northern soul. By the time Buddah Records released Do It All in 1979, many R&B enthusiasts thought of Henderson as a romantic singer. “Valentine Love” and “You Are My Starship” are quiet storm classics, as are “We Both Need Each Other” (another Connors hit from 1976 that Henderson wrote and sang on), 1977’s “At the Concert” and 1978’s “Take Me, I’m Yours.” Henderson was big on romantic male/female vocal duets during the 1970s—“Valentine Love” with Carn, “We Both Need Each Other” with the late Philly native Phyllis Hyman, “At the Concert” with Roberta Flack, “Take Me, I’m Yours” with Rena Scott—and all of them contributed to his status as a quiet storm icon. But those who are real Michael Henderson fans know that he has a funky side as well as a romantic side, and both sides assert themselves on Do It All.

Henderson soars as a romantic soul singer on ballads and slow jams that include “In the Summertime,” “Wait Until the Rain” and the Berry Gordy/Tyran Carlo song “To Be Loved,” and a smooth mid-tempo groove prevails on “Everybody Wants to Know Why.” But Henderson’s funkier, edgier side shows up on the gritty “Playing on the Real Thing,” and there is no shortage of disco-soul exuberance on the sleek yet funky “Riding.” Henderson wasn’t a major contributor to disco in the late 1970s or early 1980s, but the disco-soul factor is evident on “Riding”—and the energetic title track finds him successfully combining disco, funk and rock. That jam has both dance floor appeal and a rock edge.

Commercially, Do It All wasn’t one of Henderson’s bigger solo albums, although it did make it to #17 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart and contained two minor hits: “To Be Loved” (which stalled at #62 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart) and the title song (a #56 R&B single in Billboard). Plus, “In the Summertime” enjoyed a lot of exposure on quiet storm programs. Back in 1979, radio DJs in the United States had a lot more freedom than they do now; program directors let them make some selections, and “In the Summertime” was perfect for the late-might quiet storm shows that would typically play Henderson’s slow jams alongside other quiet storm favorites such as Teddy Pendergrass, Phyllis Hyman, Peabo Bryson and Minnie Riperton. FunkyTownGrooves’ expanded edition of Do It All contains all seven selections from Buddah’s original 1979 LP as well as three bonus tracks: the 7” single versions of “Riding,” “To Be Loved” and the title song.

Henderson bounced back commercially in a big way in 1980 with his single, “Wide Receiver,” a funk gem that soared to #4 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart. But while Do It All didn’t contain any chartbusters, this album has a very good reputation among Henderson’s hardcore fans. From quiet storm to funk to disco-soul, Henderson is in enjoyably good form on Do It All.

—Alex Henderson, December 2013

Alex Henderson’s work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, JazzTimes, Jazziz, Salon.com, AlterNet, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, Latin Style, The New York City Jazz Record, Jazz Inside Magazine and many other well-known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) also contributed several thousand CD reviews to The All Music Guide’s popular website and series of music reference books.