“Blame It” was one of the biggest hit singles of 2009. The Jamie Foxx–T-Pain smash had one of the most instantly catchy hooks and benefited from stellar production from one of the industry’s most respected producers — Chris “Deep” Henderson.
The song’s primary songwriter, Henderson, knew as a youngster that he was drawn to music, but it took a while to really flesh out his talents.
“It wasn’t until I saw Purple Rain and the scene where Prince is playing the piano and listening to a tape that Wendy and Lisa did [that I realized] … that ear-play existed. I always thought that people who played piano took lessons. It took a while for me to take it seriously; it was always just a hobby for me,” he says.
Henderson cites Prince’s classic film, Purple Rain, as the inspiration for wanting to learn to play by ear, and from there, he developed his songwriting and production skills in college. He and his roommate started a production company and shortly thereafter, Henderson crafted his first hit, Case’s “Happily Ever After.” –todd williams
What did the success of ‘Happily Ever After’ mean for you initially?
It took care of so much. [I left] my old college production company, it was the first song I had shopped on my own. Before that, I had left it completely in my partner’s hands to find a home for [a song.] … But that was my first victory.
What are the benefits of being a producer as opposed to just a songwriter?
The producer gets the bigger check and half of the publishing — if they didn’t use samples.
The producer is the point of contact [for the label] and the songwriter sometimes is the last to know [things like]; is it placed or not placed? Did so-and-so like it? Is it going on the album? The producer hears the facts and the songwriter does not.
Why is being a self-contained producer-songwriter so imperative in today’s music climate?
The people who were coming out had producers behind them that could turn it in. I saw that getting on albums isn’t about talking to the execs in this climate; it’s about getting the record recorded. Between 2005 and 2008, that was the way to get on a project. The record labels don’t have the staff to invest in someone running around and putting an album together, [the people who get signed] are the people who come with their finished album.
–todd williams