Some Kind of Paradise: Mike Henderson

Mike Henderson has a worldwide following for his blistering blues repetoire. Critics and fans alike rave about his live shows with his band, the Bluebloods, and his several blues and roots/country CDs, on which he has recorded both classic blues and his own original material.

Starting out playing fiddle and mandolin in bluegrass bands in his native Missouri, Mike joined a blues band, the Bel Airs, for several years, where he honed his distinctive guitar style. He moved to Nashville in the mid-'80s, where he joined a band called The Roosters, in which he worked with his future Dead Reckoning partners Kevin Welch and Harry Stinson, as well as Wally Wilson, Gary Nicholson and Glenn Worf. Between his work with the Roosters and a later blues band, The Snakes, he built a reputation as a talented multi-instrumentalist, and session work quickly followed.

An accomplished songwriter as well as player, he co-wrote "Powerful Stuff" for The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and he's recorded with such artists as Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Trisha Yearwood, Tracy Nelson, Joy Lynn White and Hank Williams, Jr, and was a member of Kevin Welch's band, The Overtones. One of his biggest fans in the music industry is former Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler, who invited Mike to play on his Sailing to Philadelphia CD and subsequent multi-continent tour in 2001, which went everywhere from Brazil to Russia and many points in between.

He's won several Nashville Music Awards, including Best Blues Album for both First Blood and Thicker than Water, and, along with The Bluebloods, was nominated for a W.C. Handy Award for Best New Blues Artist.

What the Critics Say

Mike in general:
"Henderson is as good a blues guitar player as exists right now. He sings well, writes good songs, tackles classics, and runs a tight, fierce band."--Dave Marsh, Rock 'n' Rap Confidential

"There's not another guitarist working on Music Row who attracts the same kind of awe that he does."--Michael McCall, Weekly Wire

First Blood:
"Look for this one to show up on best-of-the-year lists. A."--Entertainment Weekly

“The Bluebloods’ debut effort is a knock-your-socks off collection of blues standards performed in respectfully modernized arrangements."--Bill Kuhn, Jelly

"Henderson is an amazing singer, guitarist, and harmonica player....."--Paul-Emile Comeau, Dirty Linen

"A founder of the artist-owned label Dead Reckoning Records, Henderson can play guitar with the best of them."--Randy Krbechek, CD Shakedown

Featured Discography

Solo

Country Music Made Me Do It, 1994
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Edge of Night, 1996
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With The Bluebloods

First Blood, 1996
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Thicker Than Water, 1999
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With The Dead Reckoners

A Night of Reckoning, 1997
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