William Henderson (August 9, 1939 – February 2, 2007) was an American singer, best known for being an original member and founder of The Spinners, a

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vocal group A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s. Types Vocal groups can come in s ...

Biography

William Henderson was born on August 9, 1939, in Indianapolis, and grew up in Royal Oak Charter Township, Michigan. He and four friends at Ferndale High School in 1954 formed a group originally called The Domingos and later renamed The Spinners."Billy Henderson"
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', February 7, 2007. They had several hits, especially in the 1970s, including " I'll Be Around" (1972) and "

Could It Be I'm Falling in Love "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" is a 1972 song recorded by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners (known as "Detroit Spinners" in the UK). It was co-written by Melvin and Mervin Steals, two songwriter brothers working for Atlantic, who were ...

", " Then Came You" (with Dionne Warwick), "

The Rubberband Man "The Rubberband Man" is a song recorded by the American vocal group the Spinners. The song, written by producer Thom Bell and singer-songwriter Linda Creed, was about Bell's son, who was being teased by his classmates for being overweight. In ...

" and " It's a Shame". "It's a Shame" is a song co-written by Stevie Wonder,

Syreeta Wright Syreeta Wright (February 28, 1946 – July 6, 2004), who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights we ...

and

Lee Garrett Lee Garrett (born June 30, 1943, in Mississippi) is an American rhythm and blues singer-songwriter, most famous for co-writing the classic song "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours". He recorded a handful of solo singles during the 1960s, one of ...

, and produced by Wonder as a single for The Spinners on Motown's V.I.P. Records label. Recorded in 1970, it became the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

-reared group's biggest single on the Motown Records company since they had signed with the company in 1964 and also their biggest hit in a decade. The lineup of the quintet included original members

Pervis Jackson Pervis Jackson (May 17, 1938 – August 18, 2008) was an American R&B singer, noted as the bass singer for The Spinners, and was one of the group's original members as well as their spokesman. His deep timbered voice and calm swagger garnered h ...

Henry Fambrough Henry Lee Fambrough (born May 10, 1938) is an original vocalist and current member of the R&B quintet The Spinners (aka The Detroit Spinners and also The Motown Spinners). He is the last surviving original member of the Spinners. The group ...

, Billy Henderson and Bobby Smith and lead vocalist G. C. Cameron. The song, which is about a man who complains about a lover's "messin' around" on him, became a huge hit for the group, reaching number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number three on the R&B singles chart, making it their biggest hit to date. The song was the first song Wonder produced for another act by himself. The Spinners were

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for six

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s and they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the second star for a musical group consisting of

Afro Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

. Henderson remained with the group for half a century, until 2004.

Personal life and death

Henderson died in Daytona Beach, Florida, from complications caused by

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

on February 2, 2007, at the age of 67. His grave is located at Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery. Henderson and his wife Barbara had three sons: Charles, Sterling and Joseph.Carlyle C. Douglas
"The Spinners"
''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...

'', July 1976, p. 46.

References

External links

* *
''Associated Press''"Spinners Vocalist Billy Henderson Dies"
''Billboard'', February 3, 2007.

Biography

Personal life and death

References

External links

See also