Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. (December 18, 1897 – December 28, 1952) wa… Read Full Bio ↴Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. (December 18, 1897 – December 28, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. His was one of the most prolific black orchestras and his influence was vast. He was often known as "Smack" Henderson.Fletcher Henderson was born in Cuthbert, Georgia. He attended Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated in 1920, where he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter organization established for African Americans. After graduation, he moved to New York City to attend Columbia University for a master's degree in chemistry. However, he found his job prospects in chemistry to be very restricted due to his race, and turned to music for a living.
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.

Nagasaki
Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Fellows, if you're arn I will spin a yarn
That was told to me by Able Seaman Jones
Once he had the blues so he took a cruise

Far away from night-clubs and from saxophones
He said, "Yo ho, I've made a certain port
And when you talk about real He-Man sport"

Hot ginger and dynamite
There's nothing but that at night back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky wacky, woo

The way they can entertain
Would hurry a hurricane back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky wacky, woo

In Fujiama you get a mama
Then your troubles increase
In some pagoda, she orders soda
Earth shake, milk shakes, ten cents a piece

They kissy and huggy nice
Oh, by jingo, it's worth the price back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky wacky, woo

Now when the day is warm
You can keep in form
With a bowl of rice beneath a parasol
Every gentle man has to use a fan

And they only use suspenders in the fall
That's where the girls don't think of rings and furs
Gosh, it's the nicest place that ever weres

They give you a carriage free
The horse is a Japanee back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky wacky, woo

They sit you upon the floor
No wonder your pants get sore back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky wacky, woo

With sweet Kimoner, I pulled a boner
I kept it up at high speed
I got rheumatics and then psyatics
Halatosisis, that's guaranteed

You just have to act your age
Or wind up inside a cage back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky wacky, woo

With an ice-cream cone and a bottle of tea
You can rest all day by the hickory tree
But when night comes round, oh gosh, oh gee
Mother, Mother, Mother, pin a rose on me

Those pretty mamas in pink pajamas
They try to give you a kiss, those torrid teases
In B.V.D.ses
Heaven help a sailor on a night like this

Not too gentle and not too rough
But you've got to tell them when you've had enough

Back in Nagasaki where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky wacky, woo

Overall Meaning

The opening lyrics of Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra's song Nagasaki are spoken in a storytelling manner in which one character, Able Seaman Jones, recounts his experience while taking a cruise to Nagasaki. He described how far away it was from night clubs and saxophones, and how the men would chew tobacco while the women would engage in wicky wacky wooing. Jones also expressed how entertaining the place was with hot ginger and dynamite and how it was worth the cost.

The remaining lyrics of the song are a combination of observations of Nagasaki's culture and an experience with a woman. The lyrics mention how every gentleman carries a fan, uses a carriage for free, and how the women try to kiss sailors in their pink pajamas. The song also describes how they sit on the floor, eat rice, and only use suspenders in the fall. Additionally, there is a part where the singer talks about a woman named Sweet Kimoner, whom he had a high-speed experience with and ended up getting rheumatics, psyatics, and other conditions.

Overall, Nagasaki is a song that portrays a fictionalized account of the people, culture, and experiences in Nagasaki. It is a mixture of cultural observations, romanticized experiences, and humorous descriptions of the people and events that could occur.

Line by Line Meaning

Fellows, if you're arn I will spin a yarn
Hey guys, if you're bored, I have a story to tell

That was told to me by Able Seaman Jones
Able Seaman Jones told me this story

Once he had the blues so he took a cruise
He felt down, so he took a trip

Far away from night-clubs and from saxophones
To escape the noisy city life

Hot ginger and dynamite
It's exciting and explosive

There's nothing but that at night back in Nagasaki
Nagasaki is an exciting place to be at night

Where the fellers chew tobaccy
Where men smoke tobacco

And the women wicky wacky, woo
And the women are seductive and playful

The way they can entertain
They know how to have fun

Would hurry a hurricane back in Nagasaki
It's even more exciting than a hurricane

In Fujiama you get a mama
You can find a woman in Fujiama

Then your troubles increase
But then you might have more problems

In some pagoda, she orders soda
In a pagoda, she orders a soft drink

Earth shake, milk shakes, ten cents a piece
Earthquakes and milkshakes are both cheap and plentiful

They kissy and huggy nice
They are affectionate and loving

Oh, by jingo, it's worth the price back in Nagasaki
It's worth the cost to experience Nagasaki

Now when the day is warm
When the weather is hot

You can keep in form
You can stay healthy

With a bowl of rice beneath a parasol
By eating rice under a sunshade

Every gentle man has to use a fan
All men need a fan to stay cool

And they only use suspenders in the fall
They wear suspenders only in autumn

That's where the girls don't think of rings and furs
Women in Nagasaki care less about jewelry and clothing

Gosh, it's the nicest place that ever weres
It's the best place ever

They give you a carriage free
They offer you a ride for free

The horse is a Japanee back in Nagasaki
The horse is a Japanese breed in Nagasaki

They sit you upon the floor
They ask you to sit on the floor

No wonder your pants get sore back in Nagasaki
No wonder your pants will hurt from sitting on the floor

With sweet Kimoner, I pulled a boner
I made a foolish mistake with a beautiful kimono

I kept it up at high speed
I kept going too fast

I got rheumatics and then psyatics halastosisis, that's guaranteed
I got various health problems due to my behavior

You just have to act your age
You need to behave appropriately

Or wind up inside a cage back in Nagasaki
Or end up in trouble in Nagasaki

With an ice-cream cone and a bottle of tea
Enjoying ice cream and tea

You can rest all day by the hickory tree
You can relax under a tree

But when night comes round, oh gosh, oh gee
But at night, things get exciting

Mother, Mother, Mother, pin a rose on me
I want to impress the ladies

Those pretty mamas in pink pajamas
The attractive women in pink pajamas

They try to give you a kiss, those torrid teases
They try to seduce you with their teasing behavior

In B.V.D.ses
Wearing BVDs (men's underwear)

Heaven help a sailor on a night like this
The sailor is in trouble on such a tempting night

Not too gentle and not too rough
They're not passive, but not overly aggressive either

But you've got to tell them when you've had enough
But you must let them know when to stop

Back in Nagasaki where the fellers chew tobaccy
Nagasaki, where men smoke tobacco

And the women wicky wacky, woo
And the women are playful and seductive

Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: MORT DIXON, HARRY WARREN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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