Ken Scott

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Ken Scott (born 20 April 1947) is a British record producer and engineer best known for his contribution to the Beatles, as well as engineering Elton John, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Duran Duran, the Jeff Beck Group, and many others.

Scott is best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, Supertramp, Devo, Kansas, Ronnie Montrose, Level 42, and others. Scott was also instrumental in jazz rock's evolution, pioneering a more modern rock sound through his work with Mahavishnu Orchestra, Stanley Clarke, Billy Cobham, Dixie Dregs, and Jeff Beck.

Personal life

Scott, a native of South London, spent from 1976 to 2013, then migrated to Nashville. In 2016, Scott and his wife, Cheryl, moved to Hampsthwaite, North Yorkshire, England.

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Career

Scott was born in South London and grew up listening to 78 rpm recordings of musicians including Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, and Eddie Cochran on a wind-up gramophone. He earned a tape recorder in 1959, which he used to record material from BBC Light Programme Pick of the Pops, but it was an episode of Here Come the Girls, an Alan Freeman-hosted TV show about British female pop artists in recording studios that first focused on Scott's future aspirations as a recording engineer, which first featured Carol Deene's debut as a recording engineer in a live session from the point of view of Studio Two at Abbey Road Studios, where Malcolm Adde

On Saturday, 18 January 1964, Scott wrote letters inquiring about recording engineer job openings and delivering them to several London recording studios. He was called by Abbey Road Studios three days later and interviewed and offered a job the next day. Scott began working the following Monday at the age of just 16. Malcolm Addey and Norman Smith completed his Abbey Road studio training under engineers. His first work was in the tape library, and within six months he was promoted to 2nd engineer (now known as a "button pusher"), where his first session was on the Beatles' album A Hard Days Night.

Manfred Mann ("Do Wah Diddy Diddy," the first English number one hit he worked on), Peter and Gordon, Judy Garland, Johnny Mathis, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, and Peter Sellers were among the other artists he worked with as a button pusher.

Scott was promoted to "cutting" (also known as mastering today), where he spent nearly two years cutting not only acetates for musicians but also the masters for several of EMI's hits, including the American Motown catalog).

Scott was promoted to engineer in September 1967, where the Beatles' first session was "Your Mother Should Know." He performed the strings, brass, and choir for the band's "I Am the Walrus" recording session just days later. Scott also worked on "Lady Madonna," "Hello, Goodbye," and "Hey Jude," as well as The Beatles and Magical Mystery Tour albums during his time with the Beatles. "The Fool on the Hill," "Helter Skelter," "Back in the United States," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," the last of which was released on the White Album but not on it," are among the best songs from his collection.

Scott also performed with many other artists, including Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd, the Pretty Things, Scaffold, and Mary Hopkin as an engineer at Abbey Road. He left Abbey Road for Trident Studios in late 1969, only after the completion of Procol Harum's album A Salty Dog, with Elton John and producer Gus Dudgeon.

Scott soon found himself working with the Beatles on their various solo projects, including John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance" and "Cold Turkey," Ringo Starr's "It Don't Come Easy" and George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass."

After fellow Trident engineer Robin Geoffrey Cable suffered serious injuries in a traffic collision, he took over mixing of Elton John's Madman Across the Water for a short period of time. He went to work on John's Honky Château and Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player.

He also reunited with David Bowie (he had worked on Bowie's 1969 self-titled album and The Man Who Sold the World) on a project with Bowie protege Freddie Burretti during this time. By this time, Scott wanted to go back to school, and Bowie announced that he'd soon be starting a new album and wasn't comfortable producing everything by himself, so they decided to co-produce what became Hunky Dory. The album was finished, but before it was even released, work on his next album – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars – began with Scott as co-producer. Scott went on to coproduce Bowie's Aladdin Sane and Pin Ups albums, as well as the little-known Midnight Special television program episode "The 1980 Floor Show."

Scott was also partnered with Supertramp for Crime of the Century during his time at Trident Studios, resulting in a landmark album in the United States, barring the United States. Although most albums were released in two weeks at the time, Crime of the Century was an exception, requiring a lengthy six months for Scott and the company to find a consistency to the recording and mixing not found in much of the time's popular music. Crime of the Century is often regarded as one of the top albums of all time, and it was often used as a stereo demonstration track in music stores. "Dreamer" and "Bloody Well Right" were two songs on the album that received a lot of radio airplay today: "Dreamer" and "Bloody Well Right."

The follow-up, Crisis?

What Crisis? tried to reach those same sonic heights, but it was limited by a timetable, because Supertramp had already established a bit of fame, and a release date and tour had yet to be scheduled. Studio D at A&M Records in Hollywood, the Who's Ramport Studios, and the now defunct Scorpio Studios were all recorded at other studios besides Trident, including Studio D at A&M Records in Hollywood, the Who's Ramport Studio, and the now defunct Scorpio Studios.

While at Trident, Scott included America, Harry Nilsson, Lou Reed, Rick Wakeman, the Rolling Stones, Al Kooper, and Lindisfarne, as well as the Clio-winning Coca-Cola ad "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke."

Scott has also contributed to the transformation of jazz rock or progressive jazz by making an even harder edge rock sound (especially to the drums) on albums such as Mahavishnu Orchestra's Birds of Fire, Visions of the Emerald Beyond, and Stanley Clarke's Where and Back, as well as Jeff Beck's There and Back.

Although not strictly jazz nor progressive rock, he performed with the southern fusion band Dixie Dregs (What If and Night of the Living Dregs) and the symphonic progressive band Happy the Man (Happy the Man and Crafty Hands).

Scott decided to relocate his family to Los Angeles in 1976 after three months in Hollywood recording Supertramp on the A&M lot and receiving more post-production work as a result of Supertramp's success, and by chance renting a house across the street from Frank Zappa. He produced albums with David Batteau, the Tubes, Devo, Kansas, Dada, and others shortly after.

Scott was asked to check out a demo starring ex-members of Frank's band Terry Bozzio and Warren Cuccurullo, as well as Bozzio's wife Dale, who had formed a band later to be dubbed Missing People. With Scott as the band's new manager and the help of a fledgling rock radio station KROQ, the band went on to record one of the largest selling EPs ever, which culminated in a contract with Capitol Records, which later released their first album, titled Spring Session M.

After a "artistic gap" resulted in a break, he went on to produce and manage other shows, including Christine in Attic and Cock Robin, but neither of these groups went on to be able to replicate Missing People's success.

Scott's prior relationship with Warren Cuccurlo, who went on to join Duran Duran Duran Duran, resulted in his mixing an MTV Unplugged episode as well as engineering work on the Thank You and Pop Trash albums.

Scott Reunions With Former Beatle George Harrison in 2000 to work on the reissue of his catalogue, which included the famous hit All Things Must Pass. During this period, he was also responsible for the establishment of Harrison's entire tape library.

Scott continues to be in the studio and gives talks around the world. He published Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust, co-written with Bobby Owsinski and published by Alfred Music Publishing in 2012.

Scott is currently a Senior Professor at Leeds Beckett University's School of Film, Music, and Performing Arts.

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Awards and recognition

• 2010 – Fellowship Award from the Association of Professional Recording Services
• 1973 – Clio award – Best Music and Lyrics (for "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" recorded at Trident Studios for Coca-Cola)
• 1974 – Grammy Award nomination – Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical – Crime of the Century (album)
• 1972 – Grammy Award nomination – Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical – Honky Château
• 1972 – Grammy Award nomination – Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical – Son of Schmilsson