Uploaded January 2015 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE CHARTS - 1975
Song that entered the charts : " The Hustle "
Performing Orchestra : Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony
Highest charts position : --1--
The song was taken from the album "Disco Baby" and was written by Van McCoy.
SKITCH HENDERSON
Skitch Henderson was a pianist, conductor, and composer. His nickname reportedly derived from his ability to quickly "re-sketch" a song in a different key.
Henderson started to play the piano at the age of four. Although he didn't receive formal conservatory education in music, Henderson received classical training under Fritz Reiner, Albert Coates, Arnold Schoenberg, Ernst Toch and Arturo Toscanini, who invited him to conduct the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Henderson would later recount his learning the ropes by playing in taverns with popular singers of the day.
He 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 MGM's 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. However this account is at odds with the memoirs of the tune's composer, Harold Arlen, who said he first performed the song for the 14-year-old Garland.
After the war, he worked for NBC Radio, where he was the musical director for Frank Sinatra's Lucky Strike Show. He was also accompanist on Philco Radio Time with Bing Crosby on the new ABC network. Henderson also played on Bob Hope's Pepsodent Show.
In 1983, he founded The New York Pops orchestra, which makes its home at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
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 Allen's 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 Carson's early years as host, and was replaced first by Milton DeLugg and then trumpeter Doc Severinsen, who headed the NBC orchestra until Carson's 1992 retirement
Among his hundreds of recordings, spanning the era of 78s to DVDs, were two recent releases as pianist for Arbors Records. The two albums were Swinging With Strings and Legends (with Bucky Pizzarelli). He also served as conductor of The New York Pops with Maureen McGovern on With a Song in My Heart: The Great Songs of Richard Rodgers for Reader's Digest and Centaur Records.
He conducted a 1963 recording for RCA of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess with Leontyne Price and William Warfield, which won a Grammy.
An affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution resulted in the Trust's inaugural exhibit: Skitch Henderson: A Man and His Music. On January 29, 2005, the Smithsonian awarded him the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal in recognition of his contributions to American culture.
In 1997, Henderson was honored for the vital role he played in the cultural life of New York City by being awarded the Handel Medallion, presented by the City of New York, New York. He was also the recipient of three honorary degrees – from St. Thomas Aquinas College, the University of South Florida, and Western Connecticut State University.
SWEET MARIA (MILICA)
Song written by Bert Kaempfert for his album "Strangers in the night" and originally titled "Milica".
The song was covered numerous times, both by vocalists and instrumentalists worldwide.
MHO
Though short this little piece by Skitch Henderson and his Orchestra is a real beauty. By adding some gentle rhythm to the score, Henderson kind'a brings new life to the tune and makes it a bit more 'lighthearted'. The traditional "slow" beginning forms a nice contrast with the more rhythmic second part.
This arrangement proves once more that the melodies written by Bert Kaempfert are a 'steady' foundation for other musicians - a foundation that enables them to be musically creative in their own way. Enjoy.
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE CHARTS - 1975
Song that entered the charts : " The Hustle "
Performing Orchestra : Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony
Highest charts position : --1--
The song was taken from the album "Disco Baby" and was written by Van McCoy.
SKITCH HENDERSON
Skitch Henderson was a pianist, conductor, and composer. His nickname reportedly derived from his ability to quickly "re-sketch" a song in a different key.
Henderson started to play the piano at the age of four. Although he didn't receive formal conservatory education in music, Henderson received classical training under Fritz Reiner, Albert Coates, Arnold Schoenberg, Ernst Toch and Arturo Toscanini, who invited him to conduct the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Henderson would later recount his learning the ropes by playing in taverns with popular singers of the day.
He 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 MGM's 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. However this account is at odds with the memoirs of the tune's composer, Harold Arlen, who said he first performed the song for the 14-year-old Garland.
After the war, he worked for NBC Radio, where he was the musical director for Frank Sinatra's Lucky Strike Show. He was also accompanist on Philco Radio Time with Bing Crosby on the new ABC network. Henderson also played on Bob Hope's Pepsodent Show.
In 1983, he founded The New York Pops orchestra, which makes its home at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
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 Allen's 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 Carson's early years as host, and was replaced first by Milton DeLugg and then trumpeter Doc Severinsen, who headed the NBC orchestra until Carson's 1992 retirement
Among his hundreds of recordings, spanning the era of 78s to DVDs, were two recent releases as pianist for Arbors Records. The two albums were Swinging With Strings and Legends (with Bucky Pizzarelli). He also served as conductor of The New York Pops with Maureen McGovern on With a Song in My Heart: The Great Songs of Richard Rodgers for Reader's Digest and Centaur Records.
He conducted a 1963 recording for RCA of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess with Leontyne Price and William Warfield, which won a Grammy.
An affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution resulted in the Trust's inaugural exhibit: Skitch Henderson: A Man and His Music. On January 29, 2005, the Smithsonian awarded him the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal in recognition of his contributions to American culture.
In 1997, Henderson was honored for the vital role he played in the cultural life of New York City by being awarded the Handel Medallion, presented by the City of New York, New York. He was also the recipient of three honorary degrees – from St. Thomas Aquinas College, the University of South Florida, and Western Connecticut State University.
SWEET MARIA (MILICA)
Song written by Bert Kaempfert for his album "Strangers in the night" and originally titled "Milica".
The song was covered numerous times, both by vocalists and instrumentalists worldwide.
MHO
Though short this little piece by Skitch Henderson and his Orchestra is a real beauty. By adding some gentle rhythm to the score, Henderson kind'a brings new life to the tune and makes it a bit more 'lighthearted'. The traditional "slow" beginning forms a nice contrast with the more rhythmic second part.
This arrangement proves once more that the melodies written by Bert Kaempfert are a 'steady' foundation for other musicians - a foundation that enables them to be musically creative in their own way. Enjoy.
