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Canadian-American singer and songwriter (1936–2019) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jack Scott (born Giovanni Domenico Scafone, Jr.; January 24, 1936 – December 12, 2019)[1][2] was a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. He was best known for his string of rockabilly hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Scott was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.
Jack Scott | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Giovanni Domenico Scafone Jr. |
| Born | January 24, 1936 Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
| Origin | Hazel Park, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | December 12, 2019 (aged 83) Warren, Michigan, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1957–2019 |
| Labels | |
Scott was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, to Italian-American parents.[3] He spent his early childhood in Windsor, across the river from Detroit, Michigan.[4] When he was 10, his family moved to Hazel Park, a Detroit suburb. He grew up listening to hillbilly music and was taught to play the guitar by his mother, Laura.[4]
As a teenager, Scott pursued a singing career and recorded as "Jack Scott". At the age of 18, he formed the Southern Drifters.[4] After leading the band for three years, he signed to ABC-Paramount Records as a solo artist in 1957.[4]
After recording two good-selling local hits for ABC-Paramount in 1957, he switched to the Carlton record label and had a double-sided national hit in 1958 with "Leroy" (No. 11) / "My True Love" (No. 3).[4] The record sold over one million copies, earning Scott his first gold disc.[5] Later in 1958, "With Your Love" (No. 28) reached the Top 40. In all, six of 12 songs on his first album became hit singles. On most of these tracks, he was backed up by the vocal group the Chantones.[6]
He served in the United States Army during most of 1959, just after "Goodbye Baby" (No. 8) made the Top Ten. 1959 also saw him chart with "The Way I Walk" (No. 35). Most of his Carlton master tapes were believed lost or destroyed until Rollercoaster Records in England released a vinyl EP, "Jack Scott Rocks", and CD, The Way I Walk, which were for the most part mastered from original tapes rather than the disc dubs used for previous reissues.
At the beginning of 1960, Scott again changed record labels, this time to Top Rank Records.[4] He then recorded four Billboard Hot 100 hits – "What in the World's Come Over You" (No. 5), "Burning Bridges" (No. 3) b/w "Oh Little One" (No. 34), and "It Only Happened Yesterday" (No. 38).[4] "What in the World's Come Over You" was Scott's second gold disc winner.[7] Scott continued to record and perform during the 1960s and 1970s.[4] His song "You're Just Gettin' Better" reached the country charts in 1974.[4] In May 1977, he recorded a Peel session for BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel.
Scott released his penultimate album in 1995, a live set recorded with British band the Class of '58 while headlining at the 1994 Rockhouse Festival in the Netherlands.
In 2007, Jack Scott was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.[8] In 2011, he was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.[3]
Scott's final album, the studio album Way to Survive was released in 2015.
Scott lived most of his life in Hazel Park, Michigan, before moving to nearby Sterling Heights in his later years. He suffered a heart attack on December 6, 2019, and died six days later at St. John Macomb Hospital in Warren, Michigan, aged 83.[9][10]
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1959 | Jack Scott (Carlton 12–107) |
| 1960 | I Remember Hank Williams (Top Rank RM319) |
| 1960 | What in the World's Come Over You (Top Rank RM326) |
| 1960 | What Am I Living For (Carlton 12–122) |
| 1960 | The Spirit Moves Me (Top Rank RM348) |
| 1964 | Burning Bridges (Capitol T2035) |
| 1995 | Jack Scott Live with The Class of '58 (Rockhouse ROCKCD 9504) |
| 2015 | Way to Survive (Bluelight BLR 33176) |
| Year | Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated |
Chart Positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | US Country | CAN CHUM | CAN Country | UK | |||
| 1957 | "Baby, She's Gone" b/w "You Can Bet Your Bottom Dollar" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | What Am I Living For |
| "Two Timin' Woman" b/w "I Need Your Love" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958 | "My True Love" / | 3 | 5 | — | 1 | — | 9 | Jack Scott |
| "Leroy" | 11 | 5 | — | 15 | — | — | ||
| "With Your Love" / | 28 | — | — | 18 | — | — | ||
| "Geraldine" | 96 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Goodbye Baby" / | 8 | — | — | 3 | — | |||
| "Save My Soul" | 73 | — | — | 3 | — | — | ||
| 1959 | "I Never Felt Like This" / | 78 | — | — | 38 | — | — | What Am I Living For |
| "Bella" | — | — | — | 38 | — | — | ||
| "The Way I Walk" | 35 | — | — | 31 | — | 30 | Jack Scott | |
| "Midgie" | — | — | — | 43 | — | — | ||
| "There Comes A Time" b/w "Baby Marie" |
71 | — | — | 44 | — | — | What Am I Living For | |
| 1960 | "What in the World's Come Over You" b/w "Baby, Baby" |
5 | 7 | — | 2 | — | 11 | What in the World's Come Over You |
| "Burning Bridges" / | 3 | 5 | — | 2 | — | 32 | ||
| "Oh, Little One" | 34 | — | — | 2 | — | — | ||
| "What Am I Living For" b/w "Indiana Waltz" (from Jack Scott) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | What Am I Living For | |
| "It Only Happened Yesterday" / | 38 | — | — | 4 | — | — | Burning Bridges | |
| "Cool Water" | 85 | — | — | 4 | — | — | ||
| "No One Will Ever Know" b/w "Go Wild Little Sadie" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| "Patsy" b/w "Old Time Religion" (from The Spirit Moves Me) |
65 | — | — | 18 | — | — | Burning Bridges | |
| 1961 | "Is There Something On Your Mind" b/w "I Found A Woman" (Non-album track) |
89 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "A Little Feeling (Called Love)" b/w "Now That I" (Non-album track) |
91 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "My Dream Come True" b/w "Strange Desire" (Non-album track) |
83 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Steps One And Two" b/w "One Of These Days" (Non-album track) |
86 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "If Only" b/w "Green Green Valley" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| 1962 | "Cry Cry Cry" b/w "Grizzily Bear" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "The Part Where I Cry" b/w "You Only See What You Wanna See" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Sad Story" b/w "I Can't Hold Your Letters (In My Arms)" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963 | "Laugh and The World Laughs With You" b/w "Strangers" (Non-album track) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | Burning Bridges |
| "All I See Is Blue" b/w "Meo Myo" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "There's Trouble Brewin'" b/w "Jingle Bells Slide" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| 1964 | "I Knew You First" b/w "Blue Skies (Moving In On Me)" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "What A Wonderful Night Out" b/w "Wiggle On Out" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Thou Shalt Not Steal" b/w "I Prayed For An Angel" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Tall Tales" b/w "Flakey John" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965 | "I Don't Believe In Tea Leaves" b/w "Separation's Now Granted" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Don't Hush The Laughter" b/w "Let's Learn To Live and Love Again" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I Hope I Think I Wish" b/w "Looking For Linda" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966 | "Before The Bird Flies" b/w "Insane" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1967 | "My Special Angel" b/w "I Keep Changing My Mind" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1970 | "Billy Jack" b/w "Mary Marry Me" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1973 | "May You Never Be Alone" b/w "Face To The Wall" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1974 | "You're Just Gettin' Better" b/w "As You Take A Walk Through My Mind" |
— | — | 92 | — | — | — | |
| 1992 | "Burning Bridges" (with Carroll Baker) | — | — | — | — | 55 | — | |
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