Robert William Scott (January 29, 1937 – November 5, 1990)[1] was an American musician, record producer, and songwriter.

Biography

Scott was born in Mount Pleasant, New York, United States,[1] and became a pianist, vibraphonist, and singer, and could also play the accordion, cello, clarinet, and double bass. He studied under Edvard Moritz at the La Follette School of Music at the age of eight, and was working professionally at 11.[2] In 1952, he began touring with Louis Prima, and also toured and performed with Gene Krupa, Lester Young, and Tony Scott in the 1950s.[1] In 1956 he hit the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with the song "Chain Gang", peaking at number 13.[3] (This was not the same song as the 1960 pop hit "Chain Gang" by American singer/songwriter Sam Cooke.) It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[4]

Career and Grammy Award

As a bandleader, he did sessions for Verve, ABC-Paramount, Bethlehem, and Musicmasters. As a songwriter, he won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for the song "A Taste of Honey".[5] In addition to "A Taste of Honey", Scott also co-wrote the song "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother".[6] 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 (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.[7]

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, Baby Breeze (Limelight, 1965)
• Buddy Emmons, 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

• Bobby Scott discography at Discogs
• Bobby Scott at IMDb