Today we’d like to introduce you to Helen Henderson.
Hi Helen, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I moved to London from New Zealand in my early twenties. I always wanted to sing and write songs and was lucky enough to get signed as an artist to Ensign Records. Nigel Grainge and Chris Hill ran the indie label and signed Bob Geldorf and the Boomtown Rats, The Waterboys and Sinead Oconnor… It was a very exciting time to be making music in London.
I played and recorded with many world-famous musicians who were playing with the likes of George Harrison and Elton John. I took it a bit for granted at the time because I was so young and inexperienced. I remember when I first started out, a friend introduced me to Nick Mason the drummer for The Pink Floyd. He was kind enough to offer me advice as a young Kiwi female artist. I drove up on my scooter to the gates of his Rock star mansion one wintery grey London day. My nose was red from the cold and I had helmet hair. He poured me a nice cup of English tea and made me feel at home. I bravely played him a Linda Ronstad song I had recorded. I never forgot what he said. Quote: “ You don’t want to be singing other people’s songs.” “ You must write your own songs because people want to know who you are “ He was so kind and down to earth. I took his words to heart and started writing in earnest.
Early on in my late teens in Australia, I was turned on to John Prine. I loved his storytelling approach, his humor and the universal quality of his songs. Jonie Mitchell inspired me to write whatever was closest to my heart. I wrote my first song, “Anyones Baby” a pop rock song and was instantly signed Ensign Records… It was a heady experience! “Anyone’s Baby” with a lot of other early original recordings are on my “LONDON “ record which can be heard on Spotify. Later on, Brian Eno of Roxy Music fame heard some demos of mine and got them to John Kalodner, head of A&R at Geffen Records in Los Angeles. I flew into New York and signed up with Bud Prager, who managed Foreigner. Then I settled in Los Angeles. I loved California and being close to the Pacific Ocean, one direct flight away from New Zealand. That’s how my music career started. It has been a long and winding road from New Zealand to Los Angeles, Nashville and Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Smooth NOT!! Haha, rocky yes. Just ask George Harrison, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell or Billie Holliday, any authentic musician. . It’s a fools game, but if you are painted with that artist dreamers brush, you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. The music industry is the dirtiest business on the planet. Worse than the movie industry. Periods of loneliness, doubt, rejection, and brushes with poverty. Not everyone can be in that 1% of famous rich Rock Stars. But art is here for the making and for the taking. It is not for the faint hearted. There is some satisfaction in listening to ones calling and fulfilling one’s dreams. I like to think of Rock and Roll as a musical tribe rolling along on a bus. It’s a wild ride. It doesn’t really matter where you are on the bus as long as you are on it. Kris Kristofferson said something like, “I’d rather be sorry for something I done than something I never done”.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a storyteller, a sort of a poet who likes to sing. I have grown to love my voice, it’s so faithful and has always been there for me. Same with my songs, they have become my old friends. When I write new songs, another character joins the family. I used to be so critical of my voice and my songs, constantly comparing them to my lofty genius musical influences. Now I’m just grateful the songs exist, with or without me, they have their own essence and trajectory.
Some of my biggest heroines can no longer sing like Linda Ronstad, Linda Thompson and Joni Mitchell. I feel so lucky that I am able to keep singing like a bird. I don’t limit myself in what I write about. I write whatever moves me. Sometimes dark sometimes light. I like Nick Cave in this regard. In 2000 I opened with my LA band, for Rod Stewart and Simple Minds in Austria. In 2005 I recorded an album “Twisting Wind” at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals Alabama, the “The Cradle of Rock and Roll” on the banks of the “Singing River” the mighty Tennessee. Original members from the famous “Swampers” rhythm section played on the record along with the talented Doug Pettibone from California. “Twisting Wind” along with my other records, is on Spotify and also available on most digital outlets.
In 2019, I was inducted into the Southland New Zealand Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in my hometown of Invercargill. These are some of the things I feel proud of, plus having my songs on major American television shows like “True Blood” “Criminal Minds” “Chicago Fire”. My latest record, “Muriel’s Dream” will be released in 2023. It is an homage to my mother Muriel and her family, the colorful, musical Lindsay clan. My grandfather Syd Lindsay introduced me to the Beatles as a young child. In the words of John Lennon, “A working class hero is something to be.”
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Just being myself. Being open, curious and passionate about what I love. Being around musicians that are more talented than I am that inspire me. Seeing live music. Listening to artists I love.
Asking questions, reading about other artist’s journeys, trusting myself not letting rejection or self-doubt stop me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.helenhendersonmusic.com
- Instagram: @kiwisiren
- Facebook: Helen Henderson
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0BC1lbU5sKDPY7bz5eiXu9?si=E81Bqmx0TAW8Czh6Eh-Q5g
