Biography
Raised in Tyler, Texas, Bugs Henderson drew early inspiration from the abundance of roadhouse blues and blues-rock guitarists active around Dallas during the 1960s, among them Freddie King, Johnny Winter, and scores of others on the local scene. He has named James Burton, Ricky Nelson’s guitarist, as a primary influence.
At age six he received his first instrument, a Montgomery Ward Airline guitar, as a Christmas gift. During his teenage years Henderson worked in a record store, much like the Louisiana musician Sonny Landreth, and slipped out at night to attend club performances. At sixteen he started his initial group, the Sensors. He subsequently teamed with Ronnie Weiss in Mouse & the Traps, and the band scored a regional radio success with “Public Execution” in 1966. Although he performed with numerous rock outfits and contributed to studio sessions for both country and rock artists, by the early 1970s Henderson recognized that blues was the only style that truly engaged him. His mentor and friend Freddie King urged him to assemble his own band and pursue that passion. In 1978 he issued his debut album, At Last, on the Texas label Armadillo Records; more than fourteen additional releases followed over the next three decades. By the late 1990s he was recording for Portland, Oregon’s Burnside Records, which issued 1998’s Have Blues...Must Rock and the subsequent Backbop. Further titles encompass Electric Snow, Stormy Love, Adventures of the Shuffle Kings, and Gitarbazndrumz.
Henderson resides in Garland, Texas, with his four children and maintains a clear hierarchy of priorities: family first, music second, career third. In the biography supplied with one Burnside release he observed, “I couldn’t have the life I have now and be a major star. Couldn’t go to my kids’ ball games. I wouldn’t give that up for anything.” When he tours each year he brings his family along: son Buddy plays drums, son Cody serves as sound technician, and daughter Rose handles merchandise sales. Despite modest touring schedules and the restricted reach of smaller labels such as Burnside, Henderson and his various ensembles have appeared with guitar luminaries including Ted Nugent, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. One of his instruments is displayed at the Hard Rock Café in Dallas beside guitars donated by Chet Atkins and Lee Ritenour.
He recently issued the DVD Live at the Grenada, recorded in Texas, and his website notes continued performances in Europe, select U.S. festivals, and venues throughout Texas. Years ago he chose to forgo demanding road schedules; as he remarked in another Burnside biography, “I tell people all the time that I know you’re supposed to stop and smell the roses as you go through life, but in my case I stopped and moved into the garden.”
At age six he received his first instrument, a Montgomery Ward Airline guitar, as a Christmas gift. During his teenage years Henderson worked in a record store, much like the Louisiana musician Sonny Landreth, and slipped out at night to attend club performances. At sixteen he started his initial group, the Sensors. He subsequently teamed with Ronnie Weiss in Mouse & the Traps, and the band scored a regional radio success with “Public Execution” in 1966. Although he performed with numerous rock outfits and contributed to studio sessions for both country and rock artists, by the early 1970s Henderson recognized that blues was the only style that truly engaged him. His mentor and friend Freddie King urged him to assemble his own band and pursue that passion. In 1978 he issued his debut album, At Last, on the Texas label Armadillo Records; more than fourteen additional releases followed over the next three decades. By the late 1990s he was recording for Portland, Oregon’s Burnside Records, which issued 1998’s Have Blues...Must Rock and the subsequent Backbop. Further titles encompass Electric Snow, Stormy Love, Adventures of the Shuffle Kings, and Gitarbazndrumz.
Henderson resides in Garland, Texas, with his four children and maintains a clear hierarchy of priorities: family first, music second, career third. In the biography supplied with one Burnside release he observed, “I couldn’t have the life I have now and be a major star. Couldn’t go to my kids’ ball games. I wouldn’t give that up for anything.” When he tours each year he brings his family along: son Buddy plays drums, son Cody serves as sound technician, and daughter Rose handles merchandise sales. Despite modest touring schedules and the restricted reach of smaller labels such as Burnside, Henderson and his various ensembles have appeared with guitar luminaries including Ted Nugent, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. One of his instruments is displayed at the Hard Rock Café in Dallas beside guitars donated by Chet Atkins and Lee Ritenour.
He recently issued the DVD Live at the Grenada, recorded in Texas, and his website notes continued performances in Europe, select U.S. festivals, and venues throughout Texas. Years ago he chose to forgo demanding road schedules; as he remarked in another Burnside biography, “I tell people all the time that I know you’re supposed to stop and smell the roses as you go through life, but in my case I stopped and moved into the garden.”
Albums
