Skitch Henderson(1918-2005)

Composer, conductor, band leader, arranger, pianist, jazz expert and accompanist to Judy Garland on tour, Skitch Henderson was educated at Juilliard and the University of Califonia and was a student of Malcolm Frost, Roger Aubert, Albert Coates, Fritz Reiner, and Arnold Schönberg. He was a pianist in dance bands, and then theater orchestras, and in films and radio on the West Coast. He served in the US Air Force during World War II, then became Bing Crosby's music director on radio. Between 1947 and 1949, he toured with his own dance band, and from 1961 was the musical director for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) and a guest conductor for a number of symphony orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and the London Philharmonic. He was also music director for the New York opera "Street Scene" and made many recordings. Joining ASCAP in 1958, his instrumental compositions include "Skitch's Blues," "Minuet on the Rocks," "Skitch in Time," "Come Thursday," and "Curacao."