BEVERLY HILLS, CA – MAY 06: Musician Ray Parker, Jr. performs at the Midnight Mission Golden Heart Awards 2013 at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on May 6, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images for The Midnight Mission)
Detroit doesn’t just produce talent—it breeds legends in their teens.
In this powerful episode of Mason’s Mix, Mason, Angie Starr, and Devon dive into the jaw-dropping reality that some of the greatest musicians of all time were barely teenagers when they hit the world stage—and they all came from right here in Detroit.
Let’s start with Tony Green. At just 15 years old, Tony told his mom he wasn’t going to summer school—he was going on tour with The Dramatics as their bass player. And that wasn’t just youthful confidence—he earned it. Mason recalled, “He wasn’t even old enough to drive, but he was outplaying men twice his age.”
Ray Parker Jr.? Yeah, the Ghostbusters guy. He was 13 when Stevie Wonder brought him into his road band. Later, Barry White couldn’t record without him. And when Ray returned to his old high school in 1982 after his worldwide success, they sent him to the office because they thought he was a student skipping class. That’s how young he still looked—with a global hit already under his belt.
Then there’s Michael Henderson, the 14-year-old bass prodigy Miles Davis insisted on stealing from Stevie Wonder’s band. Let that sink in: one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time made it a priority to bring a Detroit teenager on tour. “I knew grown men in their 30s and 40s who couldn’t outplay Michael,” Mason said. “At 14, he was untouchable.”
These weren’t just dreams coming true. These were kids who skipped the dream stage and stepped straight into greatness—before they could even grow a mustache.
Detroit wasn’t just making stars—it was creating prodigies who would rewrite music history. And Mason’s Mix is here to remind you: this city is different.
