Jack Scott RIP

In a year which, as ever, has seen the deaths of many greats, the final month has seen the death of one of my favourite singers: Jack Scott, at the age of 83. His deep and resonant voice was equally effective on rockabilly numbers and ballads, soulful numbers, country and gospel songs His first double sided hit of 1958 coupled the rocker 'Leroy' with the ballad 'My True Love' and later hits such as ballads like 'What In the World's Come Over You', 'With Your Love', 'Burning Bridges' and 'Goodbye Baby', rockabilly numbers like 'Geraldine' and 'The Way I Walk' and gospel numbers such as 'Save My Soul' demonstrated his versatility. Born in Windsor, Ontario, he spent much of his life in nearby Detroit and in the last 20 years or more has been a regular at music festivals all over the world. I first saw him at Hemsby in 2000 and later caught his act at Rhythm Riot, Viva Las Vegas and the Long Island Doowop Weekend (pictured above). Here's what I wrote when he appeared at the Rhythm Riot in 2015:

'Day two's big name was the ever reliable Jack Scott, whose moody demeanour belies a wry sense of humour. Looking a good deal younger than his 79 years and wearing a black leather jacket, he began with the rocking 'Leroy' and moved on through 'What Am I Living For', 'One Of These Days', 'Ubangi Stomp', 'Save My Soul', 'Baby Goodbye' and 'Geraldine', all delivered to perfection with fine backing from the Rhythm Riot house band. Next came 'Foggy Mountain Dew', with some speeded up yodelling towards the end, and a couple more originals in the form of 'Patsy' and 'Baby Baby'. Jack has recently recorded his first studio album for over 40 years, 'Way To Survive', and he featured a couple of numbers from that - 'Tennessee Saturday Night' and 'Hillbilly Fever'. Other numbers included 'Strange Desire', 'Flaky John', 'The Way I Walk' and 'I Found A Woman', and for an encore he returned to 'Leroy', only this time using its original lyric of 'Greaseball'. This was a great set by a singer who is as good and fresh today as he ever was - moody and magnificent.'

Most of Jack's hits were self penned , but the lyrics were not always imaginative. I remember at the Doowop show he told a story about how in a radio interview he had been asked what the lyrics of 'Geraldine' were. His deadpan spoken response was a classic of repetition.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2MXvhA8kY8

I have many records by Jack, but I found one LP by him on my recent trip to Nashville ('What Am I Living For') which I didn't previously own, which includes some of his earliest songs, recorded for ABC Paramount, before he moved on to enjoy 19 hits with Carlton and, later Top Rank. Jack Scott was under rated, but definitely one of the very best singers of the rock and roll era. RIP Jack.