Robert William Scott (January 29, 1937 – November 5, 1990) was an American musician, record producer, and songwriter.

Biography

Scott was born in Mount Pleasant, New York, United States, and became a pianist, vibraphonist, and singer, and could also play the

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

, cello,

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

, and double bass. He studied under

Edvard Moritz Edvard is a form of Edward and may refer to: * Edvard Askeland (born 1954), Norwegian jazz musician * Edvard Befring (born 1936), Norwegian educationalist * Edvard Beneš (1884–1948), Czech politician * Edvard Christian Danielsen (1888–1964), ...

at the

La Follette School of Music LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

at the age of eight, and was working professionally at 11. In 1952, he began touring with Louis Prima, and also toured and performed with Gene Krupa, Lester Young, and Tony Scott in the 1950s. In 1956 he hit the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with the song "

Chain Gang A chain gang or road gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include repairing buildings, building roads, or clearing land. The system was no ...

", peaking at number 13. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Career and Grammy Award

As a bandleader, he did sessions for Verve,

ABC-Paramount ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! Records, Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquire ...

, Bethlehem, and Musicmasters. As a songwriter, he won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for the song "

A Taste of Honey ''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalise British theatre and address social issues that ...

". In addition to "A Taste of Honey", Scott also co-wrote the song " He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". In the 1960s he became a music teacher and studied again under Moritz, but occasionally recorded as well, including a Nat King Cole tribute album released in the 1980s. He also composed film soundtracks, including the scores to ''

Slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

'' (1969), '' Joe'' (1970), and '' Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow!'' (1971). During the 1980s he composed music for classical guitar, harp, and piano. He also arranged for jazz and easy listening musicians such as Les and Larry Elgart.

Death

Scott died of lung cancer in New York City, at the age of 53.

Discography

As leader

* ''The Compositions of Bobby Scott'' (Bethlehem, 1955) * ''Scott Free'' (ABC-Paramount, 1955) * ''Bobby Scott and 2 Horns'' (ABC-Paramount, 1956) * ''Serenta'' (Verve, 1957) * ''Bobby Scott Plays the Music of Leonard Bernstein'' (Verve, 1959) * ''The Compleat Musician'' (Atlantic, 1960) * ''A Taste of Honey'' (Atlantic, 1960) * ''Joyful Noises'' (Mercury, 1962) * ''When the Feeling Hits You!'' (Mercury, 1963) * ''108 Pounds of Heartache'' (Mercury, 1963) * ''I Had a Ball'' (Mercury, 1964) * ''My Heart in My Hands'' (Columbia, 1967) * ''Star'' (Columbia, 1969) * ''Robert William Scott'' (Warner Bros., 1970) * ''From Eden to Canaan'' (Columbia, 1976) * ''Forecast: Rain with Sunny Skies'' (Columbia, 1978) * ''For Sentimental Reasons'' (MusicMasters, 1990) * ''Slowly'' (MusicMasters, 1991) * ''Bobby Scott Sings the Best of Lerner and Loewe'' (LPTime, 2010)

As sideman

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

, ''

Baby Breeze ''Baby Breeze'' is an album by trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker which was recorded in 1964 and released on the Limelight label.Buddy Emmons Buddy Gene Emmons (January 27, 1937 – July 21, 2015) was an American musician who is widely regarded as the world's foremost pedal steel guitarist of his day. He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1981. Affectionately known by ...

, '' Steel Guitar Jazz'' (Mercury, 1964) * Quincy Jones, '' Golden Boy'' (Mercury, 1964) * Quincy Jones, '' Quincy Plays for Pussycats'' (Mercury, 1965) * Quincy Jones, '' In the Heat of the Night OST'' (United Artists, 1967)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Bobby 1937 births 1990 deaths American bandleaders Singers from New York (state) Songwriters from New York (state) People from Mount Pleasant, New York Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) ABC Records artists Verve Records artists Atlantic Records artists Mercury Records artists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers American male songwriters