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JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS

FREDDIE SCOTT

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Freddie Scott

Biography Discography Videos

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Rhode Island’s Music Hall of FameRhode Island’s Music Hall of Fame
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Best remembered for his 1966 R & B chart-topper "Are You Lonely for Me," deep soul belter Freddie Scott was born April 24, 1933, in Providence, RI. In his early teens, he performed with his grandmother's gospel group, Sally Jones & the Gospel Keyes, but then gravitated toward a career in medicine, working on his Ph.D. at Paine College in Augusta, GA. There Scott joined the Swanee Quintet Juniors, a teen version of the famed gospel act, making his recorded debut singing lead on their "Far Away Places." He soon abandoned med school in favor of a performing career, crossing over from spiritual gospel to secular soul and in 1956 signing to Zell Sanders' J & S label to issue his debut solo single, "Running Home."

The record earned little attention, but Johnnie & Joe scored soon after with the Scott-penned "I'll Be Spinning." However, in late 1956 he was called up for military duty, briefly serving in Korea. But Scott's service stint did not completely curtail his recording career, and for the tiny Bow and Arrow label he cut 1957's "Tell Them for Me," followed a year later by "Please Call" and "A Faded Memory." After completing his military stint, Scott landed with the short-lived Enrica label for 1959's "Come On, Honey," and when it met the same indifference that greeted his previous records he focused on songwriting, teaming with Helen Miller to compose for Al Nevins and Don Kirshner's Brill Building firm Aldon Music.

Scott sang on many of his Aldon demos and worked briefly as a producer, helming sessions for Aretha Franklin's sister Erma. In 1961, he also resumed his recording career, cutting "Baby, You're a Long Time Dead" for the Joy label. In 1962, fellow Aldon songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King approached him for assistance with "Hey Girl," a new tune they hoped to pitch to soul singer Chuck Jackson. When Jackson proved unable to make the scheduled recording session, Scott cut the vocal instead, and when Colpix Records finally issued the ballad a year later, he entered the Top Ten on both the pop and R & B charts. A slow-burning rendition of Ray Charles' R&B classic "I Got a Woman" followed, affirming Scott as a deep soul singer of uncommon depth (even if efforts like his third Colpix entry, "Where Does Love Go," suffered from sugary over-production).

Diminishing commercial returns combined with Colpix's crumbling infrastructure to relocate Scott to parent label Columbia, which dubbed him "the Million Dollar Baby" and recast him as a crooner with 1964's "One Heartache Too Many." In 1965, he even released Everything I Have Is Yours, a cabaret-inspired LP comprised largely of hit movie themes. The makeover fell flat, and Scott returned to a more traditional soul dynamic with the excellent Lonely Man. Record sales were virtually nonexistent, however, and after two last-gasp Columbia singles -- including the poignant ballad "Don't Let It End This Way" -- the label let him go.

Scott resurfaced in 1966 at Shout Records, the fledgling soul label founded by producer/songwriter Bert Berns -- together they co-wrote "Are You Lonely for Me," a simmering, bluesy knockout that reportedly required over 100 vocal takes prior to completion. Scott's Herculean effort was rewarded with a record that topped the R & B charts for four weeks while rising to number 39 on the pop charts. The 1967 follow-up, "Cry to Me," proved a commercial disappointment, but Scott's impassioned, tender performance represents his creative apex. He returned to the R & B Top Ten with the funky "Am I Grooving You?," and while "Just Like a Flower" missed the charts entirely, 1968's "(You) Got What I Need" earned a spot in the R & B Top 40 as well as an eccentric cover by rapper Biz Markie some 20 years later.

But after Berns died of a massive heart attack on December 31, 1967, his widow, Eileen, proved unable to keep Shout Records afloat, and following one last Shout single, "No One Could Ever Love You," Scott left the label, spending the next two years without a record deal. He finally landed with the short-lived Elephant V, issuing "Sugar on Sunday" in 1970. After cutting a follow-up, "I'll Be Leaving Her Tomorrow," he again packed his bags, moving to ABC's Probe imprint for I Shall Be Released, scoring his final R & B Top 40 entry with the title cut, a powerful rendition of the Bob Dylan perennial.

When Probe folded, Scott was again seeking a place to record, signing to Vanguard for the one-off 1971 single "I Guess God Wants It That Way." Pickwick International released 1972's "The Great If," and two years later Scott resurfaced on Mainstream with the ballad "You Are So Hard to Forget," which proved his final single. By now he made his living primarily through writing advertising jingles with longtime composing partner Miller, and also turned to acting, appearing in the films Stiletto and No Way Out.

Scott also maintained a busy live schedule well into the 1980s before spending the following decade in virtual hibernation. He returned to music after agreeing to record a version of Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" for an Evangeline Records tribute album -- the project introduced Scott to producer Jon Tiven, and together they hatched plans to record a blues LP, in 2001 releasing Brand New Man, his first new material in close to a quarter century. Scott passed away on June 4, 2007.

-- by Jason Ankeny of All Music Guide.
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VIDEOS
(You) Got What I Need(You) Got What I Need
Hey GirlHey Girl
Are You Lonely For MeAre You Lonely For Me


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LINKSYEARTITLE
1964Freddie Scott Sings And Sings And Sings
1964Everything I Have Is Yours
1967Lonely Man
1967Are You Lonely For Me
1970I Shall Be Released
1971The Very Best Of Freddie Scott
2001Brand New Man


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albums

1964 Freddie Scott Sings And Sings And Sings

01. I Got A Woman
02. What Do I See In The Girl
03. If I Had A Hammer
04. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
05. Where Have All The Flowers Gone
06. Days Of Wine And Roses
07. Hey Girl
08. A Hundred Pounds Of Clay
09. Where Does Love Go
10. On Broadway
11. Where Is The Girl
12. My Romance

1964 Everything I Have Is Yours

01. Secret Love
02. There Goes My Heart
03. Everything I Have Is Yours
04. I'm In The Mood For Love
05. As Time Goes By
06. Out Of Nowhere
07. That Old Black Magic
08. Again
09. The Second Time Around
10. Laura
11. Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
12. I'll Never Stop Loving You

1967 Lonely Man

01. Lonely Man
02. Giving You My Heart
03. Blow Wind
04. My Arms Aren't Strong Enough
05. One More Time Before I Go
06. I'm Too Far Gone To Turn Around
07. Just One Love
08. It's Been Like This (All Of My Life)
09. Sing, Girl
10. I'll Try Again
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1967 Are You Lonely For Me

01. Are You Lonely For Me
02. Let It Be Me
03. Open Up The Door To Your Heart
04. Where Were You
05. Spanish Harlem
06. Shake A Hand
07. He Will Break Your Heart
08. Who Could Ever Love You
09. Cry To Me
10. For Your Love
11. The Love Of My Woman
12. Bring It On Home To Me

1970 I Shall Be Released

01. If Tomorrow Never Comes
02. I Shall Be Released
03. Girl, I Love You
04. I'll Be Leaving Her Tomorrow
05. Learnin' How To Fly
06. With A Little Help From My Friends
07. Don't Let Me Fall
08. Out Of My Mind

1971 The Very Best Of Freddie Scott

01. Hey Girl
02. I Got A Woman
03. Lost The Right
04. When The Wind Changes
05. Where Does Love Go
06. I'll Try Again
07. Brand New World
08. On Broadway
09. Lonely Man
10. Forget Me If You Can
11. Mr. Heartache
12. No One Could Ever Love You
13. Why Did I Lose You
14. You Got What I Need
15. I'll Be Gone
16. Am I Grooving You
17. Sugar On Sunday
18. Are You Lonely For Me
19. He Ain't Give You None
20. Cry To Me
21. I Shall Be Released
22. Girl I Love You
23. Deep In The Night
24. The Great 'If'
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2001 Brand New Man

01. All I Wanna Do Is Sing
02. Laugh To Keep From Crying
03. Brand New Man
04. Your Love
05. Everybody Loves Soul Music
06. Second Hand Paradise
07. Midnight Train
08. Other Side Of Town
09. Just Enough To Keep Me Holding On
10. Yes Man
11. Look Into Your Soul
12. Last Night
13. Don't Reward The Sinner
14. Protection
15. Locked In A Mystery



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