Biography
Scott Fagan earned his primary recognition through his contributions to the little-known 1967 psych-folk album South Atlantic Blues and the 1971 Broadway rock musical Soon. The singer and songwriter is additionally the father of Stephin Merritt, the guiding force behind the Magnetic Fields.
Born in New York during 1945 to a father who played saxophone and a mother who danced, the naturally gifted Fagan passed his childhood years beside his mother inside an arts colony situated in the Virgin Islands. By the middle of the 1960s, after performing in multiple cities and sharpening his abilities—including several appearances with Jimi Hendrix—he auditioned for the celebrated songwriter Doc Pomus. The pair later co-wrote "I'm Gonna Cry 'Til My Tears Run Dry," which Linda Ronstadt recorded.
Fagan’s skill for crafting pop material soon took him to Columbia Records, where he collaborated with the established songwriter Burt Berns. Although Apple Records briefly pursued him, the effort ended without a contract when James Taylor was chosen instead. He ultimately signed with Atco, which issued his debut studio album, South Atlantic Blues, in 1967. Like other obscure classics of the period, the record never reached mainstream audiences and quickly landed in cutout bins. Still, painter and printmaker Jasper Johns admired it enough to produce three works titled Scott Fagan Record; these pieces later entered the collections of the Met, MOMA, and the Walker Art Center.
Fagan’s next undertaking after South Atlantic Blues was the rock musical Soon, which critiqued the music industry and arrived on Broadway in 1971. Its cast featured Nell Carter, Barry Bostwick, Richard Gere, and Peter Allen. The production drew strong reviews yet closed after only three performances. A follow-up album, Many Sunny Places, appeared in 1975 but attracted little notice. In subsequent years Fagan returned to the Virgin Islands for a quieter existence. Then, in 2000, it emerged that he was the father of Stephin Merritt, who had just released the Magnetic Fields’ most successful album to date, the ambitious 1999 set 69 Love Songs.
Merritt and Fagan first met only in 2013, at which point Fagan stated he would record an album of covers of his son’s material. The Kickstarter-funded effort fell short of its financial target and was set aside. In 2015 the boutique reissue label Saint Cecilia Knows issued a newly remastered edition of South Atlantic Blues on both CD and vinyl.
Born in New York during 1945 to a father who played saxophone and a mother who danced, the naturally gifted Fagan passed his childhood years beside his mother inside an arts colony situated in the Virgin Islands. By the middle of the 1960s, after performing in multiple cities and sharpening his abilities—including several appearances with Jimi Hendrix—he auditioned for the celebrated songwriter Doc Pomus. The pair later co-wrote "I'm Gonna Cry 'Til My Tears Run Dry," which Linda Ronstadt recorded.
Fagan’s skill for crafting pop material soon took him to Columbia Records, where he collaborated with the established songwriter Burt Berns. Although Apple Records briefly pursued him, the effort ended without a contract when James Taylor was chosen instead. He ultimately signed with Atco, which issued his debut studio album, South Atlantic Blues, in 1967. Like other obscure classics of the period, the record never reached mainstream audiences and quickly landed in cutout bins. Still, painter and printmaker Jasper Johns admired it enough to produce three works titled Scott Fagan Record; these pieces later entered the collections of the Met, MOMA, and the Walker Art Center.
Fagan’s next undertaking after South Atlantic Blues was the rock musical Soon, which critiqued the music industry and arrived on Broadway in 1971. Its cast featured Nell Carter, Barry Bostwick, Richard Gere, and Peter Allen. The production drew strong reviews yet closed after only three performances. A follow-up album, Many Sunny Places, appeared in 1975 but attracted little notice. In subsequent years Fagan returned to the Virgin Islands for a quieter existence. Then, in 2000, it emerged that he was the father of Stephin Merritt, who had just released the Magnetic Fields’ most successful album to date, the ambitious 1999 set 69 Love Songs.
Merritt and Fagan first met only in 2013, at which point Fagan stated he would record an album of covers of his son’s material. The Kickstarter-funded effort fell short of its financial target and was set aside. In 2015 the boutique reissue label Saint Cecilia Knows issued a newly remastered edition of South Atlantic Blues on both CD and vinyl.
Albums
The Love Songs of Scott Fagan
2021
Dreams Should Never Die (The V.I Songs, Vol. II)
2006
Many Sunny Places
1975
South Atlantic Blues
1968
Singles
