Scotty (musician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David Scott, who performed under the name Scotty (born 1950(?) in Westmoreland, Jamaica - died 2003), was a reggae vocalist and DJ. Scotty's year of birth is ambiguous, as some sources list 1951 or 1952 as the correct year.
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[edit] Musical career
[edit] The Federals
While studying at Kingston Technical High School, Scotty and fellow students Valman Smykle and A. J. Franklin (born Franklin Spence) formed a reggae trio called The Federals. They began performing professional gigs in 1967, and shortly thereafter they attracted the attention of reggae producer and promoter Derrick Harriott while performing at a Kingston venue called the Sombrero Club. Harriott added them to an existing concert tour of reggae artists, "Derrick Harriott's Musical Chariot", and helped them record a series of singles. Their first single, "Penny For Your Song", was a local hit, but subsequent singles failed to chart, and in 1969 Smykle quit the group and moved to New York.
[edit] The Chosen Few
After the breakup of The Federals, Scotty and Franklin re-formed their group by adding two new members, Noel "Bunny" Brown and Richard MacDonald. They adoped the name The Chosen Few, and resumed work under Harriott. Their popularity increased in 1970 after they provided backup vocals for Hopeton Lewis's single "Boom Shacka Lacka", and later that year they scored a Jamaican #1 hit of their own with "Psychedelic Train".
[edit] DJ work
Shortly after this success, Harriott removed Scotty from The Chosen Few, replacing him with Busty Brown, the former singer for The Messengers. Instead, Scotty provided DJ work for various groups under Harriott's auspices, such as The Crystallites. He appeared on numerous charting hits during this period, such as "Sesame Street". His song "Draw Your Brakes" also appeared on the soundtrack to The Harder They Come. This album was enormously influential, as it constituted many Americans' first exposure to reggae music.
[edit] Later career
Scotty moved to America in 1974, settling in Florida. He established a recording studio and a record company, but these both failed, and he returned to Jamaica. He was working on a new album when he died of prostate cancer in 2003.
