Cadence legend, Gordon Henderson, who is celebrating 50 years in the music business, is among headliners of the 21st Edition of Dominica’s World Creole Music Festival, scheduled for October 25 to 27, at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium, Roseau, Dominica.
The founder of the world famous Exile One, Gordon will share the stage on the middle night of the festival with a galaxy of Cadence-lyspo stars, in what is expected to be a thriller of a night. The cadence legend who has been on a world tour to celebrate his golden jubilee in the music business will bring to the stage his vast repertoire, unique on-stage style and that special Exile One sound.
Gordon Henderson who was raised in the second town of Portsmouth on Dominica’s north-west coast, was a child prodigy who wrote and sang his own compositions from an early age. A calypso winner at his alma-mater, the Saint Mary’s Academy, Gordon would go on to play with a number of outstanding local bands during the early period of the 1970’s. In 1971, he would travel to Guadeloupe and join up with the then popular Vikings Guadeloupe, penning the highly popular soul track, Love, which would propelled him to instant stardom in the French West Indies. He would use his success with Vikings to attract a group of young exciting Dominican musicians, including Fitzroy Williams, Julie Mourillon, Vivian Wallace, Oliver Cruickshank and Kremlin Fingal with Guadelopean Pierre Labor, to form what became the creators of a new music genre, Cadence-lypso.
Exile One would go on to produce many studio albums and live recordings, producing some of the outstanding Creole anthems of the time and inspiring a whole generation of Dominican musicians and bands to create and produce a wide repertoire of music especially in the late 70’s and 80’s. His classic hits over those five decades include monster tracks such as Nou Twavay pou Anyen, Don’t Bite the Hand that Feeds You, Jumbolo, Aki Yaka, Fresh/Fraiche, Rosita, Viel ou La, Diamant Kweyol, and so much more. The prolific singer-song writer has also penned hit songs for many other singers, including for Dominica’s Lady of Song, Ophelia.
As one of the founders and early pioneers of the WCMF, Gordon is coming back to the stage and to the event he helped to shape, to bring both his professionalism, world-class stature, his patriotic sensibility and distinct Creole music credentials to this unique musical experience. He is expected to be joined on stage by his long-time friends and musical colleagues, Fitzroy Williams on keyboards and Alex Sty Larocque on drums.
Patrons and festival lovers to the 2019 WCMF can therefore look forward to some thrilling music from Exile One and the maestro of Cadence music. Come join the excitement of more than 50 years of great music from Gordon Henderson, Linford John, Ophelia and the Cadence-All Stars on the middle night of WCMF 2019.
Great stuff, can’t miss this, great combination of musicians. I coming dong for dat boy. But wait…did the article say Gordon was ‘raised’ in Possie, I thought he was ‘from’ Possie, but that’s ok. So almost everybody famous from Gandbay then? I understand his father hails from the famous ‘JP Henderson’ family in Granbay but ..oh well, thanks for what is seemingly…stroke of genius.:-D
Great to know looking forward to see these guys do you know that Gordon was once manager of DBS radio?
So did he desert Exile One. I thought that credit should be given to the band, because Gordon did not achieve success as a solo artiste.
Obviously You drank the cool aid and drunk on the political tip. Of course he is successful and a household name in the Francophone world. So was Jeff Jo, also 4 members of Cassav – (Joseline, Douvarier, Jeanclaud Nimwo and the front man J M Martelli) sorry for the spelling; also Ralph Tamar (with or without Malavoire). All these artists command huge crowds 15 to 30k fans consistently with or without their bands in Seshells, Reunion, Guianne, the FWI, Paris, Jibouti…you name it. The only drawback for us is that they are sold as FWI Gwada/Martinique artists. Gordon can show you the money, yet you are here still searching drunk in your politics for an illusive $1.2 bil fake money. Get a life panda.