Sheldon David "Scott" English (January 10, 1937 – November 16, 2018) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...

and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

. He is best known as the co-writer of " Brandy" which he wrote with Richard Kerr. This song became a No. 1 hit for

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

in 1974, with the title changed to " Mandy". English had also released a single of "Brandy" which reached No. 12 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in November 1971, and entered the US charts in March 1972.

Life and career

English was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. In 1960, he released his first single, "4,000 Miles Away", on

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

. In 1964, English had a regional

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

hit called "High on a Hill", written by Frank Cariola and A. Mangravito. "High on a Hill" has consistently been voted an all-time top song on oldies radio stations in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. It also reached No. 3 in popularity on the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

radio chart. With Larry Weiss, he wrote " Bend Me, Shape Me", which became a hit for the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

-based band

The American Breed The American Breed was an American rock band from Chicago in the 1960s. The band was originally called Gary & The Knight Lites before adopting the name The American Breed in 1967. The band had a number of charting songs in 1967–68, the be ...

, reaching No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1968 and also becoming a hit in the UK for Amen Corner. This song had been recorded a year earlier by The Outsiders as an album track on '' In'' (1967). English and Weiss, whom he met through arranger

Claus Ogerman Claus Ogerman (born Klaus Ogermann; 29 April 1930 – 8 March 2016) was a German arranger, conductor, and composer best known for his work with Billie Holiday, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, Michael Brecker, and Diana Krall. Life and ...

, became good friends. Together, they also penned " Help Me Girl" (1966), which was a hit for two acts in late 1966: Eric Burdon (solo for Decca, a UK No. 14) and The Outsiders,

Lynne Randell Lynne Randell (born Lynne Randall, 14 December 1949 – 8 June 2007) was an English Australian pop singer. For three years in the mid-1960s, she was Australia's most popular female performer and had hits with "Heart" and " Goin' Out of My Head" ...

's " Ciao Baby" (1967) and

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock music, rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, ...

's hit " Hi Ho Silver Lining", originally recorded by English group The Attack in early 1967. English produced the song "West Virginia" by The Elves in 1969 (a band later known as Elf) which featured

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and ...

on bass and vocals. He later produced

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or s ...

's eponymous debut album ''

'' (1971). He co-wrote the song "Words Don't Mean a Thing" with Lynsey De Paul, who released her version of the song on her album '' Just a Little Time''. The song was also featured on the 2008 album ''Songs From The British Academy, Vol. 1''. A Spanish version was released by Cadafal on their album ''En La Carretera''. In 1998, English was credited as a co-writer with Simon Stirling and Phil Mankiza on the UK entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, " Where Are You?", performed by Imaani. In 2014, English appeared on BBC Radio London's ''Jo Good Show'', debuting a new song "Holla" he wrote for the artist WestWay Beats. He died in England on 16 November 2018 at the age of 81, due to complications of hip surgery.

Discography

as Scott English

Albums

* ''Scott English'' (1978)

Singles

* "4,000 Miles Away" (1960) * "High on a Hill" (1964) (US Pop #77) * " Brandy" (1971) * "Denver Calling" (1971) * "Waterfall Woman" (1971) * "Ballad Of The Unloved" (1972) * "He Was Me He Was You" (1972) * "Dark Eyed Daughter Of Love" (1973) * "Rescue Man" (1973) * "Mobile" (1973) * "Camp Followin' Rosie" (1973) * "Moonlight Lady" (1974) * "Something's Missin' In My Life" (1974) * "Dance ('Till You're Out Of My Life)" (1978) * "Stay" (1978)

Selected credits

1960s

* Al Martino. "Adios Mexico" (1966) * Eric Burdon. "Help Me, Girl" (1966) * The Toys. " Ciao Baby" (1966) *

The Montanas The Montanas were an English 1960s and 1970s pop rock band from Wolverhampton, England. Though they never found significant success in their home country, they had one moderate hit in the United States. The group formed in 1964 and became known f ...

. "Ciao Baby" (1967) * The Outsiders. " Bend Me, Shape Me" (1967) *

. "Bend Me, Shape Me", "Don't Make Me Leave You" (1967) *

. " Hi Ho Silver Lining" (1967) * Peter Law. "Lingering On" (1967) *

. "Ciao Baby" (1967) *Group Check. "Ciao Baby" (1968) *

. "Cool It (We're Not Alone)" (1968) * Amen Corner. "Bend Me Shape Me" (1968) * James & Bobby Purify. "Help Yourself (To All Of My Lovin')" (1968) *

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the ...

. "Help Yourself (To All My Lovin')" (1969) *

Mama Cass Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles * Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlem ...

. "Welcome To The World" (1968)

1970s

*Steve & Albert. "Follow The Bouncing Ball" (1970) * The Glass Bottle. "Wonderwheel" (1971) *

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgen ...

. "I Am What I Am" (1972) * Bunny Walters. "Brandy" (1972) *Raiders: "Ballad Of The Unloved" (1972) *

Al Wilson Aldra Kauwa Wilson (born June 21, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the University of Tennessee, a ...

. "All For You" (1973) * The Bells. "He Was Me, He Was You" (1973) *

. " Mandy" (1974)

1980s

Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early lif ...

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one o ...

. "You're The Only One" (1980) * Black Lace. "Hi Ho Silver Lining" (1984) *

Slade Slade are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British H ...

. "Hi Ho Silver Lining" (1985)

1990s

* Lynsey De Paul. "Words Don't Mean A Thing" (1994) *

Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and '' Let It Be'' ...

. "One Day To Fly" (1996) * Imaani. "Something's Changing" (1998) *Imaani. "Where Are You" (1998)

2000s

*Syria. "Manca di te" (2000) *Indiana E "Imitation Love" (2002) *Sarah Kreuz. "Gipsy Girl" (2009) * Sarah Kreuz. "I'll Be Yours" (2009) *Sarah Kreuz. "Whenever It's Raining" (2009) *Sarah Kreuz. "You Carried Me" (200) *Spike K "The Brooklyn Bridge" (2014) *Spike K

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh people, Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album ''The World Start ...

. "Fortune" (2014) *Westway Beats. "Holla" (2014) *Westway Beats. "Famous" (2015) *Westway Beats. "Ruby Rain" (2015) *

Bob Welch Bob Welch may refer to: *Bob Welch (baseball) (1956–2014), American baseball pitcher *Bob Welch (author) (born c. 1955), American author and newspaper columnist *Bob Welch (musician) (1945–2012), American musician and member of Fleetwood Mac ** ...

. "Bend Me, Shape Me" * Arthur Louis. "If Ever I Need You" (2009)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:English, Scott 1937 births 2018 deaths American male singers Record producers from New York (state) Songwriters from New York (state) Singers from New York City Musicians from Brooklyn American male songwriters