In 1922 he formed his own band, which was resident first at the Club Alabam then at the Roseland, and quickly became known as the best African-American band in New York. For a time his ideas of arrangement were heavily influenced by those of Paul Whiteman, but when Louis Armstrong joined his orchestra in 1924 Henderson realized there could be a much richer potential for jazz band orchestration. Henderson's band also boasted the formidable arranging talents of Don Redman (from 1922 to 1927).
It's significant to note during the 1920's and very early 1930's, Henderson actually wrote few, if any, arrangements; most of his recordings were arranged by Don Redman (c. 1923-1927) or Benny Carter (after 1927-c. 1931). As an arranger, Henderson came into his own in the mid-1930s.
His band circa 1925 included Howard Scott, Coleman Hawkins (who started with Henderson in 1923 playing the low tuba parts on bass saxophone and quickly moved to tenor and a leading solo role), Louis Armstrong, Charlie Dixon, Kaiser Marshall, Buster Bailey, Elmer Chambers, Charlie Green, Ralph Escudero and Don Redman.
In 1925, along with fellow composer Henry Troy, he wrote "Gin House Blues", recorded by Bessie Smith and Nina Simone amongst others. He also wrote the very popular jazz composition "Soft Winds" among others.
Henderson recorded extensively in the 1920s for numerous labels, including:
Vocalion,
Paramount,
Columbia,
Olympic,
Ajax,
Pathe,
Edison,
Emerson,
Brunswick,
Plaza Records (Banner, Oriole, and the other Plaza labels).
He was recording director for the fledgling Black Swan label from 1921-1923. From 1925-1930, he primarily recorded for Columbia and Brunswick/Vocalion under his own name and a series of acoustic recordings under the name The Dixie Stompers for Columbia's Harmony and associated dime store labels (Diva and Velvet Tone). During the 1930s, he recorded for Columbia, Crown (as "Connie's Inn Orchestra"), ARC (Melotone, Perfect, Oriole, etc.), Victor, Vocalion and Decca.
At one time or another, in addition to Armstrong, lead trumpeters included Henry "Red" Allen, Joe Smith, Rex Stewart, Tommy Ladnier, Doc Cheatham and Roy Eldridge on trumpet. Lead saxophonists included Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey, Benny Carter and Chu Berry. Sun Ra also worked as an arranger during the 1940s during Henderson's engagement at the Club DeLisa in Chicago. Sun Ra himself said that on first hearing Henderson's orchestra as a teenager he assumed that they must be angels because no human could produce such beautiful music.
Beginning in the early 1930s, Fletcher's piano-playing younger brother, Horace Henderson contributed to the arrangements of the band. At different times in Horace's career he was Billie Holiday's and Lena Horne's Pianist. Later he led a band of his own that also received critical acclaim.
Although Fletcher's band was very popular, he had little success managing the band. But much of his lack of recognition outside of Harlem had to do more with the times in which he lived. Although he was the real "King of Swing", America was not ready for him to take his place on the throne. After about 1931, he was well regarded as an arranger - and his arrangements became influential. In addition to his own band he arranged for several other bands, including those of Teddy Hill, Isham Jones, and most famously, Benny Goodman. Henderson's wife, Leora, said that a major turning point in his life was an auto accident which occurred in 1928. Henderson's shoulder was injured and he apparently sustained a concussion. Leora claimed that Fletcher was never the same, and that after this point he lost his ambition and became careless. According to Leora, the accident was a major cause of Henderson's diminishing success. She claims that John Hammond and Benny Goodman arranged to buy Henderson's arrangements as a way to support Henderson, and points out that Goodman always gave Henderson credit for the arrangements and said that the Henderson band played them better than the Goodman band. In addition, Goodman and Hammond arranged broadcasts and recordings to benefit Henderson when he was ill.
Although Henderson's music was loved by the masses, his band began to fold with the 1929 stock market crash. The loss of financial stability resulted in the selling of many arrangements from his songbooks to the later-to-be-acclaimed "King of Swing" Benny Goodman.
In 1934, Goodman's Orchestra was selected as a house band for the "Let's Dance" radio program. Since he needed new charts every week for the show, his friend John Hammond suggested that he purchase some Jazz charts from Henderson. Many of Goodman's hits from the swing era were arranged by Henderson for his own band in the late 20s and early 30s.
In 1939 Henderson disbanded his own band and joined Goodman's, first as both pianist and arranger and then working full-time as the staff arranger. He reformed bands of his own several times in the 1940s, toured with Ethel Waters again in 1948 - 1949. Henderson suffered a stroke in 1950 resulting in partial paralysis that ended his days as a pianist. He died in New York City in 1952.
Dear
Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm writing to tell you
Things haven't gone as planned
It's gone
All of our money, baby
I hope you understand
I can't just sit alone every day
There's something in the air here
It chokes me til i'm blue
Dear John
I'm writing to tell you
I've gone and spilled the wine
He was just so handsome, baby
You were finally off my mind
And i felt, for the first time in years
The sadness lift from my shoulders
In his arms, you melted away
Just for a moment
One peaceful moment
Dear John
Please, I still love you
I need you in my arms
Come home now, come home to me, quickly
Before there's nothing left of ours
I'm so sorry I've done what I've done
I had to fuck to feel forgiven
I was selfish, I was wrong
But it was still all about you, John
You, John
You, baby
The song "Dear John" by Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra tells a story of a woman who writes a letter to her lover named John. The lyrics convey that things did not go as planned as they have spent all of their money. The woman expresses her frustration and the feeling of suffocation - she cannot wait around for John to come and save her. The song then takes a turn as the woman admits to being unfaithful to John with a man who was so handsome that she forgot all about John just for a moment. However, towards the end of the song, the woman expresses that she still loves John and needs him back in her life.
The song seems to be a representation of the hardships that can come with long-distance relationships. The woman is struggling, feeling helpless and suffocated, with no reliable support system. She finds solace in someone else's arms, but ultimately comes to the realization that she still loves John and wants him back. The song showcases the inner turmoil of a person in a relationship who is left behind and feeling lonely, and how they try to cope with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Dear John
Hello John, I hope this letter finds you well.
I'm writing to tell you
I felt the need to write down what has been going on.
Things haven't gone as planned
Unfortunately, things have not gone according to the way I hoped they would.
It's gone
I regret to inform you that all of our money is gone.
All of our money, baby
The entirety of our funds have been exhausted.
I hope you understand
I hope you will be able to comprehend the gravity of the situation.
I can't just sit alone every day
I cannot sustain myself by living in solitude and doing nothing every day.
Waiting for you to come and save me
Anticipating your arrival and relying on you to rescue me is not a sustainable option for me.
There's something in the air here
There is an overwhelming aura in this place.
It chokes me til I'm blue
The aura in this place is adversely affecting my physical and emotional state.
I've gone and spilled the wine
I have made a mistake that I regret.
He was just so handsome, baby
I was tempted by the man's appearance.
You were finally off my mind
I was relieved to not think about you for a moment.
And I felt, for the first time in years
I experienced an emotion I had not felt in many years.
The sadness lift from my shoulders
I was finally able to release the immense burden of sorrow from my shoulders.
In his arms, you melted away
Holding this man, I temporarily forgot about you.
Just for a moment
Only for a brief period of time.
One peaceful moment
During this moment, I was able to find peace and clarity.
Please, I still love you
I sincerely still love and care about you.
I need you in my arms
I have an urgent desire to feel your embrace.
Come home now, come home to me, quickly
I implore you to return home to me as soon as possible.
Before there's nothing left of ours
I fear that if you do not come back soon, we will lose everything we have built together.
I'm so sorry I've done what I've done
I apologize immensely for what I have done.
I had to fuck to feel forgiven
I committed a sexual act in order to attain atonement.
I was selfish, I was wrong
I now recognize how self-centered and mistaken my actions were.
But it was still all about you, John
Despite my actions, my thoughts and feelings are still centered around you, John.
You, John
You are the one I still care about most, John.
You, baby
I still hold deep affection for you, dear John.
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Zachariah Baker & His Guitar Orchestra
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Alffovinni
Apparently the best recorded take of the this tune was never released due to racism. they didn’t want black bands to sound too perfect at the time...
@EDwith2ds
Well damn
@bornhoffer
What are you referring to? The recording above was released on a bunch of different labels. Of course, black orchestras were in general not given the chance to record sweet jazz, and Henderson is know to have been very proud of a potpourri of Waltzes, that he kept asking producers in vain to record, while white bands had limited opportunities to get their hot arrangements recorded, after the introduction of race records. Still, the record above is a remarkable exception in this pattern, and it really shows that the phenomenon of white musicians playing sweet and black musicians playing hot, has nothing to do with their innate abilities, as so many of the stupid writers of early jazz literature seemed to think.