William Henry McGill was born the only son of James McGill, Berrien county native, and Mary Ann Jones, of Cook county. Henry graduated from Cook High School and then attended the University of Georgia, where he earned a degree in Pharmacy. After college he returned to his hometown and began practicing as a pharmacist. In March of 2003 he was married to Angelique Decosta of Atkinson County.

At a young age Henry recognized a strong musical inclination and began singing in church when he was 4 years old. Several family members also played and sang. Most family events involved someone playing an acoustic guitar and singing a few old standard southern gospels songs. Around the age of 8, Henry first discovered the guitar, and was totally fascinated by the instrument. A scratched-up old "Silvertone" guitar in the closet, with bright shiny emblem still intact, became his first guitar. He began taking weekly "lessons" from a friend of his who was a year or so older. He laughs and recalls, "We goofed-off more than we practiced, but somewhere along the way, I got hooked on the guitar. To this day I still haven't figured the thing out!"

Family life revolved around religion and a devout Pentecostal upbringing did not allow for "Satan's" music, but Henry would secretly listen to rock and roll at night through his portable AM/FM radio. He was capitvated by the soulful, expressive style of such artists as Eric Clapton, The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and The Allman Brothers. "Most of those old albums are still in my CD player today!" he jokes. Country artist like Travis Tritt and Alabama were also major influences.

Henry sang in a church trio for several years, then went on to play Bass and acoustic guitar with the popular southern gospel group, "New Tradition" for a short while. In 1994 he began playing lead guitar with a group of friends interested in starting a country band. They began booking bars and local parties just for fun and extra money. The River was born.

After a couple of years and some member changes, the band began to develop a strong following. Henry decided to focus on music as a career. He is currently working part-time as a pharmacist and hopes to make a full-time career of music soon. "The guys in The River are literally my best friends and I love them like brothers! There is no place in the world I would rather be than on stage making music with them."

Henry and the other band members of The River have spent 11 years working hard to make their dreams a reality by writing, recording, and performing their music. "Some days I wonder if we will ever get our shot, but the journey so far is one that I wouldn't trade for anything. We have too much blood, sweat, and tears invested to stop now!" He adds, " I have been lucky enough to meet a couple of my heroes, and I get to go out and play guitar with my best friends for a living. I love my job!"