Keith Scott
Encyclopedia
Keith Douglas Scott is a Canadian
guitar
player. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with the singer-songwriter Bryan Adams
. He has also worked with Cher
, Tina Turner
, Bryan Ferry
, Tom Cochrane
, Craig Northey
and other musicians.
, British Columbia
, where his father played jazz
piano
and his mother sang occasionally. His own introduction to music was playing flute
in a school orchestra: anecdotally, it said that he chose the flute because he lived quite far away from the school and did not want to drag a large instrument case around with him. While still at school, he learned how to play the acoustic guitar and, by the time he was 17, he had acquired a used 1960s Fender Stratocaster
, which was to become a trademark instrument. Many of his musical influences are also associated with this instrument: Jimi Hendrix
, Eric Clapton
and Jeff Beck
, for example. During his career, he has used other instruments and recently the Gretsch company produced a "Keith Scott Nashville Gold Top" signature guitar, to Scott's specifications as a thank you to Scott for using his orange Gretsch for the video for "Everything I Do" filmed in Sherwood forest.
in the summer of 1976. As the 1970s were coming to an end, he started doing some recording work for the then-unknown Bryan Adams. This proved successful and within a year Scott was touring with Adams. They have been together on stage ever since.
One part of Scott's live career which was particularly demanding was when Adams' band were touring as a 3 piece from 1998 to 2002. He performed all the rhythm
and lead guitar
work simultaneously, while Adams played bass
and the third band member, Mickey Curry
, played drums. In later years, however, the band developed into a 5-piece band, allowing Scott to play lead guitar while Adams plays rhythm. Adams' concerts often allow Scott to perform a "showcase song" to show off his lead guitar skills. Adams stands back and lets Scott go to town on an improvised solo, sometimes involving the use of microphone stands, beer bottles, or other items that can be applied to guitar strings. Examples are songs such as "It's Only Love" and "Touch The Hand". On very rare occasions, Scott has also performed his own songs at Adams' shows: for example, "You're The Reason I Wear Black", during their tour of Japan
during the 1990s.
At the Juno Award
s in 2006, Bryan Adams described Scott as his best friend.
Scott, along with Bryan Adams' drummer, Mickey Curry, and Mark Holden (the founding member of 1980s Canadian rock band Boulevard) created a band called 'The Fontanas.' The band has released a self-titled album.
plus Keith Scott is a freemason
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
player. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with the singer-songwriter Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
. He has also worked with Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
, Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
, Tom Cochrane
Tom Cochrane
Tom Cochrane, OC Canadian musician and humanitarian, best known for his hit songs "Life Is a Highway", "Lunatic Fringe", "Human Race" and "I Wish You Well". Cochrane fronted the Canadian rock band Red Rider and has won seven Juno Awards...
, Craig Northey
Craig Northey
Craig Northey is a Canadian musician and one of the founding members of the band Odds.After the breakup of Odds in 1999, Northey has embarked on several other ventures, including working with Colin James, Rosanne Cash, Glen Phillips, Bruce McCulloch and many others...
and other musicians.
Background
Scott was born in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, where his father played jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and his mother sang occasionally. His own introduction to music was playing flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
in a school orchestra: anecdotally, it said that he chose the flute because he lived quite far away from the school and did not want to drag a large instrument case around with him. While still at school, he learned how to play the acoustic guitar and, by the time he was 17, he had acquired a used 1960s Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
, which was to become a trademark instrument. Many of his musical influences are also associated with this instrument: Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
and Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, for example. During his career, he has used other instruments and recently the Gretsch company produced a "Keith Scott Nashville Gold Top" signature guitar, to Scott's specifications as a thank you to Scott for using his orange Gretsch for the video for "Everything I Do" filmed in Sherwood forest.
Early bands
Scott formed a band with people he had met at school but quickly found work with better-known bands such as "Bowser Moon", The Handley Page Group and Zingo, playing about 300 shows a year in the then lucrative nightclub scene.Bryan Adams
Scott was introduced to Adams in OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
in the summer of 1976. As the 1970s were coming to an end, he started doing some recording work for the then-unknown Bryan Adams. This proved successful and within a year Scott was touring with Adams. They have been together on stage ever since.
One part of Scott's live career which was particularly demanding was when Adams' band were touring as a 3 piece from 1998 to 2002. He performed all the rhythm
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
and lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
work simultaneously, while Adams played bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and the third band member, Mickey Curry
Mickey Curry
Michael Timothy Curry is an American drummer. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with the singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, although he has also worked with Hall & Oates, Cher, Tina Turner, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Sam Phillips, Tom Waits, The Cult, Steve Jones and...
, played drums. In later years, however, the band developed into a 5-piece band, allowing Scott to play lead guitar while Adams plays rhythm. Adams' concerts often allow Scott to perform a "showcase song" to show off his lead guitar skills. Adams stands back and lets Scott go to town on an improvised solo, sometimes involving the use of microphone stands, beer bottles, or other items that can be applied to guitar strings. Examples are songs such as "It's Only Love" and "Touch The Hand". On very rare occasions, Scott has also performed his own songs at Adams' shows: for example, "You're The Reason I Wear Black", during their tour of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
during the 1990s.
At the Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
s in 2006, Bryan Adams described Scott as his best friend.
Scott, along with Bryan Adams' drummer, Mickey Curry, and Mark Holden (the founding member of 1980s Canadian rock band Boulevard) created a band called 'The Fontanas.' The band has released a self-titled album.
External links
- Bryan Adams web site – Section about Keith Scott
- Keith Scott Fan Club
- The Gretsch Guitars website – Keith Scott signature guitar
- The Fontanas Official website
plus Keith Scott is a freemason