E.C. Scott (born September 14, 1951 or late 1950s) is an American electric blues, soul blues,

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer, songwriter, record producer and television host.

Jerry Wexler Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

, called Scott "one honest-to-God soul singer." She has been nominated for nine

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

s, and has shared the stage with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

, and the

Ohio Players Ohio Players is an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire (Ohio Players song), Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster", and for their erotic album covers that featured nude or nearly nude women. Many of t ...

Life and career

Most sources give her birth name as Ecrettia Jacobs, born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, in the late 1950s, but researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc suggest that she was born Ecrettia Peevy in 1951. She attended the Skyline High School in Oakland and is listed in the 'Class of 1970'. In her childhood she saw gospel singers such as

Shirley Caesar Shirley Ann Caesar-Williams (born October 13, 1938), known professionally as Shirley Caesar, is an American gospel singer whose career has spanned seven decades. She has won 11 Grammys in addition to Dove Awards and Stellar Awards; Caesar is kno ...

and

Inez Andrews Sister Inez Andrews, born Inez McConico (April 14, 1929 – December 19, 2012) and better known as Inez Andrews, was an American gospel singer. Her soaring, wide-ranging voice — from contralto croon to soul-wrenching wail — made her a pillar ...

. She also sang at the local St. John Missionary Baptist Church. She later turned her attention to soul music after listening to her sisters' radio. Scott began singing in nightclubs at the age of 16, and she was performing professionally two years later. Marriage and raising three children led Scott to put her music career to one side, before resurrecting it when her children grew older. Initially performing jazz, she reverted to blues and R&B once her backing band, named Smoke, were in place. She performed around San Francisco, including a spell as the

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

at a nightclub called Slim's. Scott released her debut single in 1988 and built up a local fan base. She appeared at a number of blues festivals, and performed at Grand Openings for the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

, the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Franc ...

, and the San Francisco Opera, before signing a recording contract with Blind Pig Records in 1994. Her first album, ''Come Get Your Love'' was released in 1995. ''

Living Blues ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van Sin ...

'' noted that "E.C. Scott must be ranked among the best of the promising female blues singers in recent years." ''Hard Act to Follow'' duly followed in 1998. Scott received a nomination for a

in 1999 for 'Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year'. Scott performed at both the San Francisco Blues Festival, and

Briggs Farm Blues Festival Briggs Farm Blues Festival is an annual blues music festival that takes place in Nescopeck, Pennsylvania, in the Northeast Pennsylvania. since the summer of 1998. The festival is hosted every July on the farmland owned by the Briggs family. Brigg ...

in 1999, and the

Sarasota Blues Fest The Sarasota Blues Fest was an annual music festival held at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida. In addition to all day live entertainment, the festival has vendors selling a wide array of food, drink and crafts. History The Sarasota Blues Fest ...

in 2000. ''Masterpiece'', her final recording with Blind Pig, was issued in 2000. Her self-released album, ''The Other Side of Me'' (2003), included more of her self-penned numbers, and had a guest vocal appearance by Little Milton on two of the tracks, "Just One of Those Days" and "If I Can Borrow Some of Your Love". In

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, she had filmed a video for "These Ain't Yo Daddy's Kind of Blues," another track from ''The Other Side of Me''. However, Scott discovered that, without a single blues video television program in the United States, she was left with only her own website and YouTube to air the promotional tool. In November 2006, performing as a television host, she presented the first show of the American

public access television Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

program, ''EC's Jook Joint'', which reaches eight million households through around 350 broadcast stations nationwide. The program features videos of blues performances, with introductions and editing work by Scott. Through her own company, ECS Productions, Scott also began working as an artist manager for a number of acts typically performing blues, pop or gospel material. In addition, she has operated as a

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

producer for acts including

Ronnie Baker Brooks Ronnie Baker Brooks (born January 23, 1967) is an American Chicago blues and soul blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a respected club performer in Chicago, even before recording three solo albums for Watchdog Records. The son of fel ...

. In 2009, she toured Europe and regularly appears at Biscuits & Blues in San Francisco. In 2011, she performed at the Riverfront Blues Festival. She currently lives in Union City, California, in a house which incorporates her home studio for editing ''EC's Jook Joint''.

Songwriting

Her songs have been recorded by various other artists including

Sonia Dada Sonia Dada was an American rock, soul, and rhythm and blues band, formed in Chicago in 1990. Founding member Daniel Pritzker enlisted Michael Scott, Paris Delane, and Sam Hogan after hearing the latter three sing in a subway station.Biography Al ...

("Sail Away" on ''

A Day at the Beach ''A Day at the Beach'' is a 1970 British film based on the 1962 book ''Een dagje naar het strand'' by Dutch author Heere Heeresma. The screenplay was written by Roman Polanski, who was originally intended to be the director, although most of ...

''), Worl-A-Girl ("Why You So Cruel", "Party", and "Stylee" on ''Party''),

Stephanie Nakasian Stephanie Nakasian (born August 29, 1954) is an American jazz vocalist and voice teacher. Biography Early life Born in Washington, D.C., Nakasian grew up in Bronxville, New York. She studied classical piano and violin, sang in choirs, and stud ...

Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat" is a song written by Leon René, Otis René and Emerson Scott in 1941. It was recorded in 1941 by The Ink Spots (Decca 4045), Erskine Hawkins (Bluebird B-11277), "Hutch" Leslie Hutchinson with Orchestra (HMV B.D. ...

" on ''

Invitation to an Escapade Stephanie Nakasian (born August 29, 1954) is an American jazz vocalist and voice teacher. Biography Early life Born in Washington, D.C., Nakasian grew up in Bronxville, New York. She studied classical piano and violin, sang in choirs, and stud ...

''), Juelz Santana ("Gone" on ''

What the Game's Been Missing! ''What the Game's Been Missing!'' is the second studio album by American rapper Juelz Santana. The album was released on November 22, 2005 under Diplomat Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album yielded the singles " Mic Check", "There It Go ( ...

''),

The Diplomats The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) is an American hip hop collective formed in 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jim Jones in Harlem, New York. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Zekey, all of whom grew u ...

("The Pit" on ''More Than Music, Vol. 1''), and Kenny Vance ("Diamonds and Pearls" on ''Lovers Island'').

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, E.C. 1950s births Living people 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers American blues singers American gospel singers American soul singers 20th-century African-American women singers African-American record producers Record producers from California Songwriters from California Musicians from Oakland, California African-American television hosts American music video directors American music managers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers American women record producers Blind Pig Records artists African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American women singers