Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to siblings Stan Warnow and Deborah Scott Studebaker whose father was the composer, musician, innovator, band leader and inventor Raymond Scott. While you may not know the name Raymond Scott, you absolutely know his music. That’s because while he may not have composed for cartoons, his music is the DNA of most if not all, Looney Toons & Merry Melodies Warner Bros. cartoons. Believe me, you know the song “Powerhouse” & “The Toy Trumpet”.
Now if that’s all Raymond Scott was known for, that would be a pretty great legacy. But he also composed for big bands, recorded jingles for the likes of Proctor & Gamble and Hamm’s Beer, was the orchestra leader on the radio and television show “Your Hit Parade”, invented the Clavinex & Electronium (precursors to the modern synthesizer) and much more. He was a man more comfortable with “the work”, than the fame or celebrity that came along with it. He was happier in his workroom than he was on camera. So exacting was his vision that he often alienated musicians and singers with his demanding ways. Yet his genius was hard to overlook as none other than Barry Gordy of Motown hired him in 1971 after seeing the Electronium in action to become the Director of Motown’s electronic music and research department in Los Angeles. The man had ten careers or perhaps only two, as Deb explains.
We also talk about to Deb about her mother, entertainer Dorothy Collins who was a nightclub performer, starred on Broadway in Steven Sondheim’s Follies and on television on Candid Camera & Hollywood Palace among others. It’s a wild ride discussing the very earliest electronic music, the music that defined all of our youth, and a man so driven by his passion, he essentially invented the fax machine decades before it became a reality. Enjoy, the latest episode of Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.
