One of Britain’s first million selling singing stars is back in the spotlight thanks to a proud grandson and Boom Light listener.
Paul Henderson Olden from Southampton got in touch with me at Boom Light asking why we overlooked his grandfather’s million selling record ‘Begin The Beguine’ while playing other versions of the Cole Porter standard.
Chick Henderson was featured singer with Britain’s popular Joe Loss Band in the late 1930s and cut the record in July 1939. Released a month later the disc became one of Britain’s best selling records of the decade.
Born in Hartlepool in 1912, Henderson Rowntree adopted the nickname Chick, given to him by his mother.
After singing in a local choir and winning talent contests Chick Henderson was drawn to the bright lights of London, recording and appearing on BBC radio from 1935 with Harry Leader’s Band, before joining the Joe Loss Band for five very successful years.
With his movie star looks and rich voice Chick Henderson became especially popular with female listeners, appearing on magazine covers and postcards.
At a time when vocalists often went unnamed on dance band records under the anonymous term ‘With vocal refrain’ Chick soon became a star attraction with the Joe Loss Band.
While in London in 1939 Chick met and fell in love with a professional cabaret dancer named Pamela Helen Stevenson, performing as part of a dancing double act called Jessica-Bernard at some of the city’s brightest night spots, including The Savoy and the Kit Kat Club. They married in 1941 and had one child, Paul’s mother, Lynda Ann Rowntree.
In 1939 at the start of World War Two, Chick Henderson joined the Royal Navy. Over the next four years he survived two torpedo attacks but was fatally wounded by shrapnel from a flying bomb in Southsea, Portsmouth, June 1944. He was just 31.
Remembered by those who knew him as a modest man who preferred to spend time with family and friends, Chick Henderson’s talent lives on through more than 250 records made in his five year singing career.
So when Chick’s Grandson Paul Henderson Olden, who lives happily with his husband Michael in Southampton, asked me to play his grandfather’s million seller on Boom Light, I was more than delighted to include it on my show. I am also grateful to Paul for kindly sharing his fascinating scrapbook of memories.
Paul is very proud of his grandfather: “Growing up it was my grandmother, Pamela, who ensured that I knew about the man that I, of course, never met. Whenever I hear my grandfather’s voice on the radio it’s always very special and makes me feel incredibly proud. He is still fondly remembered in his home town of Hartlepool, I have had many people contact me saying that their Mum, Dad or Gran were huge fans of Chick, thought that he had a marvellous voice and that his recording of ‘Begin The Beguine’ is the definitive version, sentiments I wholeheartedly agree with”.
Now the voice of Chick Henderson can be heard alongside other great singers such as Al Bowlly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, on Boom Light’s mix of Easy, 50s and Standards.
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