The “Golden Hits Of The 50s”
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BOBBY SCOTT
“CHAIN GANG”
(Sol Quasha, Herb Yakus)
ABC-Paramount 9658
No. 13 February 18, 1956
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Bobby Scott was born on January 29, 1937, in Mount Pleasant, New York. He attended Dorothea
Anderson Follette’s School of Music; studied classical composition with Edward Moritz, a student
of Claudia Debussy. In his teens, he played piano in dance bands, worked the Big Apple’s jazz
circuit, accompanied Tony Scott, LOUIS PRIMA, and toured with the Gene Krupa Orchestra;
recording sides for Verve with the latter. In 1955, Bobby met with the cigar-chompin’ big cats at
ABC-Paramount, who politely gave him a listen and signed him to a contract. “Chain Gang” was
an early release, and it clicked.
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Further recordings did not sell as well, and Scott turned to arranging for Harry Belafontc, Bobby
Darin, and Sarah Vaughan. He also took to songwriting, and hit paydirt when his incidental music
for Shelagh Delaney’s play, A Taste of Honey, won a Grammy Award for “Best Instrumental Theme”
in 1962. Three years later, Herb Alpert revived Scott’s tune, and “A Taste of Honey” won three more
Grammy Awards: “Record of the Year,” “Best Instrumental Performance-Non-jazz,” and “Best
Instrumental Arrangement.” Bobby Scott’s solo career continued through the ’60s on MGM, Mercury,
and Columbia. Scott has since worked as a music director for Dick Haymes and as a producer of
sessions for Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Johnny Mathis. As a songwriter, he penned hits like
“A Natural Woman” for Aretha Franklin, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” for the Hollies, and
“Where Are You Going?” for Jerry Butler. Scott also recorded with Chet Baker, Larry Elgart, and
Quincy Jones, and has been credited with the discovery of both Bobby “Sunny” Hebb and Perry
Miller (a.k.a. Jesse Colin Young) of THE YOUNGBLOODS.
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Bobby died of lung cancer on November 5, 1990.