{"value"=>"<p>Series contains the sub-series Biographical Information, Family Materials, and General Correspondence. Biographical Information includes vital records such as birth, marriage, and death certificates and school transcripts, profiles and resumes, notebooks, early composition books, programs, and awards. A 1928 program from the \"First Annual Recital and Dance, Studio Classes of Margaret Murray and Sonoma Talley\" lists the nine-year-old Henderson on the roster of pianists. A second program for the \"Mid-Year Complimentary Recital by the Studio Classes of Sonoma Talley and Margaret Murray\", the following year, again lists Henderson as a soloist. A number of newspaper and magazine profiles trace various stages of Henderson's career. Among the earliest is a 1958 interview for the <em>Afro-American</em>. The success of <em>Ain't Misbehavin'</em> resulted in a number of articles on Henderson during its run on Broadway, including a lengthy one in the <em>New Yorker</em> in 1978. There is also material concerning Henderson's numerous household moves between New York City and California. The Family series contains vital records, correspondence, drafts of articles, outlines and notes for projects, and programs. The bulk of the correspondence concerns Henderson's four wives and three children, their education, professional lives, and household moves. There is considerable material regarding his son Luther III's education at Eastman School of Music, and his career as a conductor and his daughter Melanie's schooling at Lincoln Square Academy and early television roles. There are also several letters from his mother, Florence Black Henderson (affectionately known as \"Mudsin\") and his sister, Thelma Henderson Ray, sending holiday greetings and discussing family and health matters. Programs, articles, drafts, and outlines for theatre and magazine projects document the early performing and writing career of his second wife, Stephanie Locke. There is a wedding guest book for her 1956 marriage to Henderson, at which Billy Strayhorn served as best man, and correspondence tracing her illness and death from cancer in 1967. Additional material, such as song lists and contracts for the nightclub acts of Henderson's daughter Melanie and third wife, Margo Semos, may be found in the PRODUCTION MATERIALS series under Individual Artists. Three music composition notebooks contain Henderson's earliest unpublished work, academic exercises, and songs written in 1935-1936 for his future wife Tealene Berry, as well as arrangements of Mercer Ellington songs, including their original composition, <em>A Slip of the Lip</em>. Additional certificates, diplomas, and awards may also be found in the Oversize box. While most of Henderson's correspondence is found in the Professional Papers and Production Materials series, the General Correspondence sub-series included here contains letters and cards from to and from friends concerning his attempts to find work as a free-lance arranger in New York and Los Angeles, a notice of a reunion of his World War II Great Lakes Naval Air Station unit with a list of the members, a request from Patricia Willard to share thoughts about Duke Ellington for a 1974 75th anniversary tribute with notes for Henderson's response attached. Other letters of less significance include thank you notes and requests for tickets or other assistance.</p>"}