Jocko Henderson
Douglas Wendell "Jocko" Henderson | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | July 15, 2000 | (aged 82)
Occupation | Disc jockey |
Douglas "Jocko" Henderson (March 8, 1918 – July 15, 2000) was an American radio disc jockey, businessman, and hip hop music pioneer.
Early life
Henderson grew up in Baltimore, where both of his parents were teachers.[2]
Radio broadcasting
Henderson began his broadcast career in 1952 at Baltimore station
Payola and Scepter Records
In the 1950s and early 1960s it was common practice for record companies to lavish gifts on disc jockeys in exchange for airplay of their songs. This was known as "payola", and starting in 1959 it was the subject of Congressional hearings condemning the practice. New York disc jockey Alan Freed's career ended when he was convicted of two counts of commercial bribery.[9] Wand, a subsidiary of Scepter Records, created greatest hits collections for Henderson called Jocko's Show Stoppers and Jocko's Rocket to the Stars. Scepter also gave him publishing rights to songs such as "Baby It's You" and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", which he eventually sold to avoid suffering the same fate as Freed.[9]
Later life
In 1978, Henderson made an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the
Reception, retrospect and influence
The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted Henderson into their Hall of Fame in 2004.[11]
In a 2013 interview, Questlove described Jocko Henderson as "unofficially the first MC" (adapting a jazz style of scat singing in the late disco era), and stated that he was a major influence on the earliest rap and hip-hop in Philadelphia in the late 1970s.[12]
Discography
- "A little bit of everything" (circa 1963?)
- "Blast Off to Love" (circa 1963?)
- "Rhythm Talk" (Philadelphia International, 1979)
- "The Rocketship" (Philadelphia International, 1979)
- "Everybody's Uptight (Trying to Get Their Money Right)" (Sugar Hill Records, 1983)
See also
- Arthur Bernard Leaner
- Kool DJ Red Alert
- Bob Perkins
- Daddy-O Daylie
- Yvonne Daniels
- DJ Nat D.
References
- ^ Listen to a 1957 Aircheck from the Legendary Philly DJ Jocko Henderson. WXPN, March 7, 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-547-89686-1.
- ^ a b c Douglas 'Jocko' Henderson, 82; a pioneering radio personality. The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 18, 2000.
- ^ a b Jocko Henderson Had An Air About Him. New York Daily News, July 27, 2000.
- ^ Goodman 2015, p. 34.
- ^ "National Radio Day: Top Black Radio Jockeys of All Time". 20 August 2021.
- ^ "Golden Age of Black Radio - Part 2: Deejays - Archives of African American Music and Culture".
- ^ a b Dj 'Jocko' Henderson Dies At 82. Philadelphia Daily News, July 18, 2000
- ^ a b Goodman 2015, p. 35.
- ^ Ben Fong-Torres, Jocko Henderson at Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ "Our Hall of Fame". broadcastpioneers.com. Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
- ^ Nardwuar vs. Questlove (2013), Youtube, iamOTHER (user/channel), May 2nd, 2013.
- Further reading
- Black Radio in Los Angeles, Chicago & New York A Bibliography, Dr George Hill APR & JJ Johnson with foreword by Jack Gibson