E.C. Scott
Raised by her mother in Oakland, CA, E.C.
made her debut at age three singing in church on Easter Sunday. Both of her
parents were singers and E.C. was encouraged towards gospel music from the
start, performing in the choir at St. John Missionary Baptist Church and growing
up idolizing such gospel legends as Inez Andrews, Shirley Caesar
and Albertina Walker. “They came to town with a big gospel show and I can
remember just being mesmerized by them” Her mother wouldn’t let her listen to
“worldly” music, as she called it, but later, via her older sisters’ radio, “I
was introduced to the hip stuff. I always wanted to do that, but it was so
taboo. I felt I’d go blind or I’d be crippled the next day if I sang blues. I
shied away from that for many, many years.” Nonetheless, she loved listening to
R&B music by artists such as Gladys Knight, Dinah Washington, Aretha
Franklin, and Clarence Carter.
At age 16 Scott recounts she “wandered into a bar and never left.” The bar
called Lancers was on her way home from church. “We were coming home from church
and I had to use the bathroom so some friends of mine dared me to go in there. I
did and when I came out and my friends were inside the club already sitting
down. I couldn’t believe they didn’t put us out because we weren’t old enough
but they let us stay and I noticed there was a man playing piano. He asked if I
knew how to sing and so I sang ‘Moonriver.’ To my surprise everyone in the club
stopped and started to pay attention. They asked for another song and I remember
hearing ‘Sunny’ in my head, so I sang that and they started giving me money. I
was impressed! I thought whoa this is great and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
The man at piano was named Slim Slaughter and E.C. soon adopted him as a
sort of godfather. “Slim had played keyboards in a lot of bands in the 40’s and
50’s and we hooked up as a duo going different places and finding jobs.” E.C.
was only 16 and still in high school but was suddenly able to land a job singing
with Slaughter in nightclubs making ‘real money.’ Eventually he encouraged me to
move on and start a band of my own. I asked him to be my keyboard player but he
insisted I find musicians my own age. He really pushed me to find my own thing
and was a true mentor.”
Scott soon built a following in the Bay area and was on the brink of success
when she retired to get married and raise a family. “As soon as I had the ball
rolling,” she laughs, “I stopped.” The desire to perform never left however and
when her children were old enough she began to make her way back to the stage.
“When my kids were 8 and 10 years old, I said to them ‘you know, before you met
me I was an entertainer and I sure would like to go to back to doing that.’ They
told me to go for it. Until then they hadn’t seen mom as being an entertainer.
E.C. began writing her own songs after a conversation with bluesman Joe Louis
Walker. “Joe asked me ‘E.C. how come you do other people’s tunes and not
your own? You need to start writing your own material because you’re not going
to go anywhere doing somebody else’s songs.’ That was the wakeup call and many
times I’ve thanked Joe for that kick in the pants” In 1991 fervent fans backed
E.C.’s first recording, a single (“Just Dance” b/w “Let’s Make It
Real”) and the next year she signed to Blind Pig Records where she
released three critically acclaimed albums Come Get Your Love, Hard Act To
Follow and Masterpiece. Now, E.C. Scott has hit her stride
on the Other Side
of Me, the first release for her newly
launched Black Bud Records. Scott soars on the discs 13 tracks showcasing
not only her mighty voice but also her prodigious songwriting talent.
E.C.’s growing reputation allowed her to share the stage with Lou Rawls, Ray
Charles, Patti La Belle, Jr. Walker and the All-Stars, John Lee Hooker and the
Ohio Players.
E.C. Scott has developed her own style, a refreshingly original and
distinctively modern approach that owes as much to her exceptional talent as a
songwriter as it does to her remarkable, attention-grabbing vocals. E.C.’s
enticing, rich voice, hook-laden arrangements, and intelligent, at times
humorous, lyrics come together to produce songs that aren’t easily forgotten. “I
Love the Blues,” she says. I just like it with a today sound.” On her latest
disc she takes us to that Other Side.