Joseph Wade Scott (December 2, 1924 – March 6, 1979) was an American R&B trumpeter, bandleader, songwriter,

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

and A&R man, best known for his work at

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

and

Peacock Records Peacock Records was an American record label, founded in 1949 by Don Robey in Houston, Texas, United States. History Robey established the record label in 1949 after two years of being blues singer Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's manager, and Brow ...

in the 1950s and 1960s, notably with

Bobby "Blue" Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was describ ...

Biography

Born in

Texarkana, Texas Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin cities, twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2 ...

, United States, he settled in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, by about 1950, becoming established as the principal bandleader, A&R man and arranger at

Don Robey Don Deadric Robey (November 1, 1903 – June 16, 1975) was an American record label executive, songwriter, and record producer. As the founder of Peacock Records and the eventual owner of Duke Records, he was responsible for developing the car ...

's Duke and Peacock Records. He wrote and arranged songs for

Johnny Ace John Marshall Alexander Jr. (June 9, 1929 – December 25, 1954), known by the stage name Johnny Ace, was an American rhythm-and-blues singer. He had a string of hit singles in the mid-1950s. He emerged as a prominent figure in postwar R&B an ...

, Big Mama Thornton, Bobby Bland, and

Junior Parker Herman "Junior" Parker (March 27, 1932November 18, 1971), ...

, as well as leading their touring bands. Among the songs that Scott wrote – although in most cases Robey claimed a co-writing credit with him, or in some cases sole credit (unassumingly) – were Bobby Bland's "Lead Me On", "

Turn On Your Love Light "Turn On Your Love Light" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by Bobby Bland in 1961. It was an important R&B and pop chart hit for Bland and has become one of his most identifiable songs. A variety of artists have recorded it, including Them a ...

" and "Ain't Nothing You Can Do"; Larry Davis' " Texas Flood"; Johnny Ace's "Never Let Me Go"; and Junior Parker's "Annie Get Your Yo-Yo". Scott's arrangements featured extensive use of

brass instruments A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. The term ''labrosone'', from Latin elements meaning "lip" and "sound", ...

, and "typified the Duke sound". According to Melvin Jackson, who also played in Bland's band, "Joe Scott was the man who created the big horn sound for blues bands." He moved back to Los Angeles, California in the 1970s with his wife and children where he was originally raised after Texas. Scott died in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

, in March 1979, aged 54.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Joe 1924 births 1979 deaths People from Texarkana, Arkansas African-American record producers Record producers from Arkansas American music arrangers 20th-century African-American musicians