Jane Scott
Encyclopedia
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. During her career she covered every major rock concert in Cleveland and was on a first name basis with many stars. Until her retirement from the newspaper in April 2002 she was known as "The World’s Oldest Rock Critic." She was also influential in bringing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
to Cleveland.
Scott was born at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio in 1919. She is a 1937 graduate of Lakewood High School in Lakewood, Ohio
Lakewood, Ohio
Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area, and borders the city of Cleveland. The population was 52,131 at the 2010 making it the third largest city in Cuyahoga County, behind Cleveland and Parma .Lakewood, one of Cleveland's...
, and a 1941 graduate of the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in English, Speech and Drama and she also earned a teachers certificate. Scott had one brother, Will (also deceased); she had no children and never married.
Career history
Scott’s first experience with journalism was as a staff member of the school newspaper, the Michigan Daily, while she attended the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. In 1942, the Cleveland Press
Cleveland Press
The Cleveland Press was a daily American newspaper published in Cleveland, Ohio from November 2, 1878, through June 17, 1982. From 1928 to 1966, the paper's editor was Louis Seltzer....
newspaper hired Scott as a secretary in their advertising department. Later that year, she enlisted in women's branch of the Navy, the WAVES
WAVES
The WAVES were a World War II-era division of the U.S. Navy that consisted entirely of women. The name of this group is an acronym for "Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service" ; the word "emergency" implied that the acceptance of women was due to the unusual circumstances of the war and...
(Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), rising to the rank of Lieutenant. After leaving the Navy, she took some additional classes at the Wilcox College of Communication in Cleveland to learn typing and shorthand. Around this time, she also began working for a suburban newspaper, the Chagrin Valley Herald, as the Women's Editor. This also opened doors for her as a stringer reporter for The Plain Dealer. As such, she was not a member of The Plain Dealer staff, but she reported on events in the Cleveland suburbs of Chagrin Falls, Russell, Bentleyville and Pepper Pike.
On March 21, 1952, Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
promoted The Moondog Coronation Ball at the Cleveland Arena which is recognized as the first rock and roll concert, but Scott was not in attendance at this historic show. Three days later, on March 24, 1952, at age 33, Scott was hired as an assistant society reporter at The Plain Dealer, covering the local social scene of A-List weddings and Debutante Balls. After two years as a general reporter, Scott got her own column called “Senior Class,” covering topics of interest to senior citizens, which she wrote for almost twenty years.
In 1958, she inherited the “Boy & Girl” column; at the time, it was a full page in the newspaper each Saturday. Aimed at seven- and eight-year-olds, it was the beginning of the present day rock coverage in The Plain Dealer. The column name became “Young Ohio” and eventually was called “Teen Time.” Scott described her reporting beat as “covering everything from pimples to pensions.” Scott covered the Beatles' first Cleveland performance at Public Hall on September 15, 1964 and traveled to England in 1966 to cover their tour. She also interviewed the Beatles before their August 14, 1966 show at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. “When the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan’s show, I knew what the kids really wanted to read. Once I found rock, I was never interested in anything else.” At the time, The Plain Dealer was the only major American newspaper to have a full time music critic on staff, thus Scott is considered to be the world’s first rock critic. In the 1960s, in preparation for her eventual work as The Plain Dealers Rock Editor, she spent every Saturday night for six straight years at the WEWS
WEWS-TV
WEWS-TV, virtual channel 5 , is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio. WEWS has been owned by the E. W. Scripps Company since its inception, and is an affiliate of the ABC television network...
television station for the tapings of the "Upbeat" show.
By May 1966, Scott's "Teen Time" column became a five-page cornerstone for a new idea in The Plain Dealer, a tab format entertainment section called "Go With The Plain Dealer." Published every Friday, the "Go" name lasted only four weeks and was renamed “The Action Tab.” That name changed again to the present "Friday Magazine" on June 4, 1976. Throughout 1970s, 1980s and 1990s she wrote the weekly "What's Happening" column in The Plain Dealers Friday Magazine, along with regular artist interviews, album reviews and concert reviews. She appreciated all forms of rock and made friends of many musicians. Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
said she was one of the only people to treat him with respect in his early years as a performer; Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett
Lyle Pearce Lovett is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded thirteen albums and released 21 singles to date, including his highest entry, the number 10 chart hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, "Cowboy Man"...
called her a "true friend"; she herself often told the story of accompanying Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
to buy a blue Corvette.
In 1987, The Plain Dealer attempted to replace Scott but was met with strong public outcry and backlash, including feature stories in People Magazine, MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
and The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, resulting in the newspaper’s editors backing down from their plans. Scott was inducted in 1991 into the Cleveland Press Club Hall Of Fame. Scott retired in April 2002, after 50 years at The Plain Dealer. Scott estimated that she had attended over 10,000 concerts and music events during her career. Jane’s signature interview question was: ‘What was the name of your high school?’
Favorites and Hobbies
The first record that she ever purchased was ‘’Sent For You Yesterday (And Here You Come Today)’’ by Jimmy RushingJimmy Rushing
James Andrew Rushing , known as Jimmy Rushing, was an American blues shouter and swing jazz singer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.Rushing was known as "Mr...
of Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
’s orchestra. Scott listed her favorite rock artists: from the 1960s, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
; 1970s, Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, her favorite rock star of all time; 1980s U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
; and 1990s, Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett
Lyle Pearce Lovett is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded thirteen albums and released 21 singles to date, including his highest entry, the number 10 chart hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, "Cowboy Man"...
. Her favorite rock song was “Black Water” by the Doobie Brothers. Her favorite rock album was Springsteen’s Born To Run
Born to Run
The album's release was accompanied by a $250,000 promotional campaign by Columbia directed at both consumers and the music industry, making good use of Landau's "I saw rock 'n' roll's future—and its name is Bruce Springsteen" quote. With much publicity, Born to Run vaulted into the top 10 in its...
. In August 1975, a review of hers stated "His name is Bruce Springsteen. He will be the next superstar." She wrote about that review later: "Springsteen's 1975 show at the Allen Theatre was memorable. He stood like a pirate, with a cap over his eye and a ring in his left ear, pulling us all into fascinating stories of his youth. I reviewed this show and over the objections of skeptical editors, predicted Springsteen would be a superstar. Lucky for me, Bruce came through."
Scott was an early supporter who campaigned to bring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum to Cleveland, and was interviewed on ABC’s Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
television show during the grand opening of the Museum in September 1995. She had even made a cameo appearance on ‘’The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
’’. Besides music, Scott’s hobbies included handwriting analysis and being an avid deltiologist, with a collection primarily of Cleveland landmarks, and she was a member of the Western Reserve Post Card Society. Scott also was a chirologist, once causing the Who to be late going on stage for a Cleveland concert because she was reading their palms backstage.
Further reading
- "Like Rock and Roll, Jane Scott Is Here To Stay", The Plain Dealer, January 24, 1997
- "Happy Birthday Jane!", Michael Sangiacomo, The Plain Dealer, April 30, 1999
- Adams, Deanna R. (2002) ‘’Rock 'N' Roll and the Cleveland Connection.’’ Cleveland OH: Kent State University Press, Publishers, ISBN 978-0873386913
- Olszewski, Mike (2003) ‘’Radio Daze.’’ Cleveland OH: Kent State University Press, Publishers, ISBN 978-0873387736
- Wolff, Carlo (2006). Cleveland Rock and Roll Memories. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company, Publishers. ISBN 978-1-886228-99-3
- Schwensen, Dave (2007) ‘’The Beatles In Cleveland.’’ Cleveland OH: North Shore Publishing, Publishers ISBN 978-0979103001
- Gorman, John (2008) ‘’The Buzzard-Inside the glory days of WMMS.’’ Cleveland OH: Gray & Company Publishers ISBN 978-1598510515