by Richard Skelly » Sun Dec 31, 2017 2:58 am
I recently heard an amusing schooldays recollection about California Girl on YouTube from Bill Henderson’s daughters. Saffron and Camille Henderson, like millions of other Canadian students, had to get up in front of other classmates and explain what their dad did for a living.
It’s the kind of invasive assignment that used to plague Elementary students. (Being a fatherless child, I dreaded the task.) So I’m assuming it was younger daughter Camille’s turn in 1976. She decided to bring a copy of California Girl for a play-and-tell audio explanation of what Papa Bill did to sustain the family. Some of her classmates reacted by giggling and exclaiming, “He sounds just like a girl!” Cruel, clueless little brats. Hadn’t they heard Barry Gibbs’ falsetto on those Bee Gees dance hits?
Radio listeners across Canada didn’t seem to mind Bill’s gentler vocal delivery. California Girl set the stage for Chilliwack’s debut album on Mushroom Records...Dreams Dreams Dreams.
Bill Henderson still nails the falsetto when Chilliwack performs California Girl live. Daughter Camille overcame the school taunts and later joined sibling Saffron in the West End Girls pop group. Both women continue in the entertainment biz: Camille as a vocal coach and backup vocalist for artists such as Sarah McLachlan; Saffron as a singer and voiceover artist for Vancouver’s vibrant animation sector.