Skitch Henderson was an American musician and bandleader, born on January 27, 1918. He is best known for his work as the conductor of the Tonight Show orchestra during the 1960s. Henderson was a talented pianist and composer, contributing to the world of jazz and popular music. Throughout his career, he collaborated with many artists and left a lasting impact on American music before passing away on November 1, 2005.

"We do a lot of light classical programming with that, too... obviously... a lot of Tchaikovsky music, Grieg, things like that which have become less classical with classical concerts."



"I've watched the demise of the Hollywood orchestra, the house orchestras of the big studios."



"And then I went into television; and then television moved from the East Coast to Hollywood."



"I also work with the regular orchestras in Munich, Germany and other similar orchestras."



"That was probably the stamp that went into my mind, because I worked in television for many years, doing that kind of music, so that really was my strong forte."



"While there used to be one or two Pops orchestras, now there are all kinds of European orchestras that suddenly look upon this as a golden wand that can enable them to make money recording this music."

