Shifty Henry

John Willie "Shifty" Henry (born 4 October 1921, Edna, Texas — died 30 November 1958, Los Angeles, California [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1248348/bio] ) was an American musician, most noted as a double bass and bass guitar player, and blues songwriter. He also played flute, violin, viola, saxophone, and oboe and was in demand as a session musician and arranger in Los Angeles, California in the 1940s and 1950s. He was also active in LA's live jazz scene on Central Avenue.

Career

Henry had a degree in music from the Prairie View A&M University near Houston, Texas. He played center on the football team, and the football coach gave him his nickname for his speed and agility. He generally performed and recorded as Shifty Henry, but he used a number of transparent pseudonyms for songwriting and producing, including, Baron Von Shifte, Esq., Shifte Henri, Shifte' Henre, S. Henry, and Shifti Henri.

His best known song is "Let Me Go Home, Whiskey", which was a hit in the early 1950s for Amos Milburn and was later revived by Asleep at the Wheel. Another Henry song, "Hyping Woman Blues", recorded by T-Bone Walker was sampled by DJ Mr. Scruff for his song "Get a Move On", which was used in several TV commercials. This led to a revival of interest in Henry's compositions.

Henry recorded with and arranged for the elite of jazz and rhythm and blues, including Dinah Washington, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, The Treniers, Illinois Jacquet, and Miles Davis. Henry maintained strong social as well as professional relations throughout the city and the music industry. The Shifty Henry All-Stars played regularly at New Year's Eve balls thrown by socialite Dorothy Chandler and her husband Otis, publisher of the "Los Angeles Times."

He is mentioned by name in a verse of "Jailhouse Rock" by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller: "Shifty Henry said to Bugs, for heaven's sake, no one's looking, now's a chance to make a break." [http://www.gettherhythm.com/m/michael_bolton/jailhouse_rock_feat_carl_perkins.html]

Leo Fender selected Henry to receive an early electric Fender Precision Bass. Henry appears as a string bass player in a jazz club, in the film noir movie, "D.O.A." in 1950. He also played in the house band for the Martin and Lewis television show.

ee also

*List of Precision Bass players

External links

* [http://www.batesmeyer.com/shiftyhenry/index.html Biography and lengthy sample of "Let Me Go Home, Whiskey". Site maintained by the firm that manages Henry's song rights]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1248348/bio IMDB biography]