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.
Early life
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]
Career
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.
Later life and death
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]
Discography
Albums
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)
Singles
Year
Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated
^ ab"Jack Scott". Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 27, 2024. He descends from Italian-American parents and is the eldest of seven children.
