John Scott

On October 16, 2013, John Scott was honored with The Gold Badge Award presented by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA), in association with PRS for Music. On this 40th Anniversary of the Award, the group celebrated the achievements of 12 men and women who have made a special contribution to Britain's music industry.

Virtually unknown outside U.S. Naval Ranks, there is something known as "breakaway music." Breakaway music is a modern U.S. Naval tradition used to motivate sailors upon the conclusion of underway replenishment (UNREP). When the two ships involved in the UNREP conclude their transfer of fuels and stores, and commence their breakaway, a song, usually selected by the Captain, is played over the 1MC, the "all hands" circuit that talks to the entire ship. Breakaway music may sometimes be related to the name of the ship, such as the "Theme from Star Trek (2009)" (USS Enterprise), "Theme from Rocky (1976)" (USS Boxer) and the "Theme from Bad Company (2002)" (USS Forrestal). The present day breakaway music for the USS Nimitz upon completion of UNREP can only be the music uniquely written for the ship - John Scott's "Theme from The Final Countdown (1980)".

In 2007, John Scott premiered an original score to the 1922 silent film Robin Hood (1922), written by and starring Douglas Fairbanks. The work was performed by the Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestra, Nottingham, England, and was performed in synchronization to the original film. A subsequent performance was made in 2012 at London's Cadogan Hall, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

In May 2006, John conducted the inaugural concert of the The Hollywood Symphony Orchestra at the magnificent Royce Hall on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. As founder, conductor and artistic director, it was a thrill of a lifetime. For the past 10 years, John has been possessed with an obsession for a deeper investigation into the heritage of film music. It is his goal to place the best of symphonic film music fairly and squarely alongside the accepted symphonic repertoire in major concert halls. He believes it is time that great composers of symphonic film music are given proper recognition. As president of the The Hollywood Symphony Orchestra Society, John is developing programs to establish activities involving interaction between schools, the orchestra and a variety of multimedia projects, to help students explore and understand the concept and value of music for film. The Society will be holding special competitions in the area of film music composition, and providing mentoring from masters of the art, with grant winners performing their work on stage, to film, with a full orchestra. John has also founded his own record company, JOS Records, Beverly Hills, California. JOS Records is unusual in that it is a label that is run by a composer, and that it releases the composer's own music. This is not unprecedented in the history of musical recordings -- e. g. Elmer Bernstein's Film Music Club, and some Stanyan recordings by Rod McKuen -- but not on this type of scale and for this length of time.

In 2003, John Scott unveiled his new orchestral score for the 1920 silent classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), starring John Barrymore, conducting the 40-piece Hollywood Symphony Orchestra at the Haugh Performing Arts Auditorium, Citrus College, Glendora, California. The orchestra performed in synchronization to the original film.

In June 1993, Indian film composer Ilaiyaraaja, widely rated as one of the greatest composers of Indian film music, premiered his western classical Symphonic Work in five movements with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London. The symphony was written in less than a month. The work was conducted by his friend, noted Hollywood film composer and conductor, John Scott. Ilaiyaraaja was the first Asian to have his work performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

JOS Records has released some 35 CDs since 1989! Film music fans are thankful that these scores, some of them quite obscure, have been released at all. Additionally, John has launched a new Web site devoted to his own soundtrack label at www. JOSRecords. com, which contains exclusive content and all the latest news and information about his work.

In Die Hard (1988), the final minutes were tracked with music from another Twentieth Century Fox feature. Originally a 'temp track,' the studio ultimately decided to leave it in the picture. The poignant music heard when McClane and Powell see each other for the first time, is from Scott's score for Man on Fire (1987), entitled "We've Got Each Other".

The theme to This Week in Baseball (1986), written by John Scott, was composed for a stock music library. Despite its undisputed connection to the national pastime, "Gathering Crowds" was not even written with baseball in mind. It wasn't even written in America! "I've never actually been to a baseball match," says Mr. Scott, who wrote the piece in England in 1974. The soundtrack of summer for legions of baseball fans in the '70s, '80s and '90s, is widely regarded as one of, if not, the best sports-related theme of all time.

The soundtrack to the film Yor, the Hunter from the Future (1983), contains music by brothers Guido De Angelis, Maurizio De Angelis and, separately, John Scott. Although John Scott was hired to compose music for the US version, most of his music was replaced by additional music composed by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis. Accordingly, the score was nominated for a Razzie Award, "Worst Musical Score." Regrettably, John's name remained as composer of the film. An Australian CD release features only John Scott's work.

Mr. Scott wrote the music and Arthur Hamilton the lyrics for "Remembering" for the motion picture England Made Me (1973). The song was performed by Lana Cantrell, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song in a Motion Picture. However, it became disqualified due to Ms. Cantrell's vocal being recorded over the motion picture title strip at the end of the feature. The Academy subsequently notified East Coast Records, and requested the instrumental version be nominated in its place. East Coast Records declined in support of Ms. Cantrell. As chairman of the Music Branch's Executive Committee, it was Mr. Hamilton's responsibility to disqualify his own song. The rule was changed the following year, and the use of a song over the end titles became eligible - and common practice.

His first score was for the film A Study in Terror (1965), James Hill, director. Since that 'big break,' John has gone on to score over seventy motion pictures over the years. His efforts have not gone unnoticed, for he is the recipient of four Emmy Awards and numerous industry recognitions of his work. John has not limited his compositions to the silver screen; he has also composed many concert works including three symphonies, a ballet, an opera, chamber ensembles and string quartets, among numerous others. He has also conducted other film composers' work for release on CD, as well as having conducted most of the London orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. Other European orchestras include the Prague Philharmonic, Münchner Symphoniker (Munich Symphony) and the Symfonický orchester Slovenského rozhlasu (Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra).

In 1964, British architect Theo Crosby commissioned distinguished British photographer Roger Mayne, to prepare what was to become a pioneering, photographic installation entitled "The British at Leisure." Mayne was renowned for his pictures depicting London in the 1950s and 60s. The installation premiered at the Milan Triennale, and featured 310 color images projected on five screens to a commissioned Jazz score by noted Jazz composer and musician, John Scott (as Johnny Scott). The Milan Triennale awarded Mayne and Scott for this most significant work.

He played principal sax for Henry Mancini -- who was a teacher and mentor in John's development as a film composer -- on The Pink Panther (1963), Charade (1963) and Arabesque (1966); and, was principal sax on John Barry's Goldfinger (1964) soundtrack, and flute on The Lion in Winter (1968) soundtrack. This exposure to film music whetted John's appetite for composing music for films.

In 1957, John Scott was a musician performing under the direction of Malcolm Arnold, and recording his score for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). The musicians had finished the morning session, and the orchestra broke for lunch. John was prevented from leaving by Eric Boyd-Perkins, who had been the film editor on John's score for Antony and Cleopatra (1972), and was now the sound editor on The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). He had been having trouble recording a group of people he had rounded up to do some whistling. He asked if John had a piccolo, and would he mind lending a hand? John told him it would be a pleasure, and remained, while Eric ran the footage in the film where men are marching and whistling the famous "Colonel Bogey March." Malcolm had composed a theme which was a counter melody to "Colonel Bogey," and the collective whistlers present needed something to follow. John obliged by leading them, and keeping them in time with his piccolo playing. And, that is how the famous "whistling main title" was produced, and that is how John came to miss his lunch that day. They carried on recording the score for the film after the lunch break.

For nearly sixty years, John Scott has established himself as one of the finest composers working in films today, having collaborated with foremost producers and directors worldwide, including Richard Donner, Mark Damon, Hugh Hudson, Norman Jewison, Irvin Kershner, Daniel Petrie, Roger Spottiswoode and Charlton Heston, among others. He has been an essential voice in international scoring that thoroughly belies his occasional over-looked stature in the midst of 'brand name' composers. Frequently associated with Hollywood's finest composers, including Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein and John Williams, John Scott has created a body of work that stands up as some of the finest music ever written for film. Patrick John Michael O'Hara Scott was born in Bishopston, Bristol, England. John's musical abilities are not without precedence -- his father was a musician in the Bristol Police Band. And, like many children, John was given music lessons -- first on the violin and later on the clarinet. When John was 14, he enrolled in the British Army as a Boy Musician in order to carry on his musical studies. He continued his study of the clarinet, and also studied harp. John went on to study the saxophone and became proficient enough that when he eventually left the military, he was able to find steady work touring with some of the top British bands of the era. Additional instruments included the vibraphone and flute, which subsequently afforded him international recognition as a Jazz flautist. As time went on, people began to notice that John Scott had a unique ability as an arranger of music. He was hired by EMI, and began to arrange and conduct with some of EMIs top artists. John worked with The Beatles and their producer George Martin, and went on to record with noted artists and groups, including Tom Jones, Cilla Black, Matt Monro, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and The Hollies (John contributed as arranger and conductor to their mega-hits "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" and "Long Cool Woman [In a Black Dress]," among others). However, John was also a working, playing musician. He played with The Julian Bream Consort, Yehudi Menuhin, Ravi Shankar, Nelson Riddle, John Dankworth, Cleo Laine and many others. In Barry Miles "The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years," it is noted that John holds the distinction of being the first musician to have been invited to be featured on their recordings, playing both alto and tenor flute on "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away. "In addition to working with others, in the 60s John was the leader of a popular jazz quintet and the noted Johnny Scott Trio, to include David Snell and Duncan Lamont. Melody Maker, the premier British Pop music paper of the 20th Century (1926-2000), issued an annual Jazz poll. In the 60s, John was ranked as the best flute player for five consecutive years, and among the top three for the ten-year period. It was at this time that John started to play saxophone on film scores.