Biography
David Scott, widely recognized under the stage name Scotty, rose to prominence as one of Jamaica’s leading singers and DJs. Born in Westmorland, Jamaica, in 1950—though some references list 1951 or 1952—he grew up in Kingston and studied at Kingston Technical High School. Before completing his education he had already turned professional, joining the Federals with Valman Smykle and Franklin Spence. The group attracted a devoted audience after Scotty delivered the lead vocal on the rocksteady single “Penny for Your Song,” a locally charting release that Derrick Harriott, the former rocksteady singer who had become a promoter and producer, oversaw and issued the same year.
Scotty remained with the Federals for two more years amid a series of unsuccessful singles, after which he and Spence formed the Chosen Few together with vocalists Noel “Bunny” Brown and Richard MacDonald. In 1970 the quartet gained favorable attention by supplying backing vocals on Hopeton Lewis’s single “Boom Shacka Lacka,” then stepped forward on their own with “Psychedelic Train,” a Harriott production that reached the top of the Jamaican charts that year.
Through continued work with Harriott, Scotty developed into a popular DJ personality whose witty and engaging presence appeared on more than half a dozen chart hits over the following year, among them the release “Sesame Street” credited to Scotty & the Crystalites; he also contributed to the soundtrack of The Harder They Come in 1973. His solo single “Riddle I This” was later chosen as the opening track on the compilation The Trojan Story, Vol. 2, issued in the late 1990s to chronicle the label’s history.
In 1974 Scotty relocated to the United States, where he established a record company and a recording studio in Florida. His career lost momentum toward the end of the decade, and attempts to resume recording in Jamaica during the 1980s met with little success. Fresh sessions had begun again in more recent years, including work on an album for Studio One, when prostate cancer claimed his life in early 2003 at age 53, although some sources record his age as 51.
Scotty remained with the Federals for two more years amid a series of unsuccessful singles, after which he and Spence formed the Chosen Few together with vocalists Noel “Bunny” Brown and Richard MacDonald. In 1970 the quartet gained favorable attention by supplying backing vocals on Hopeton Lewis’s single “Boom Shacka Lacka,” then stepped forward on their own with “Psychedelic Train,” a Harriott production that reached the top of the Jamaican charts that year.
Through continued work with Harriott, Scotty developed into a popular DJ personality whose witty and engaging presence appeared on more than half a dozen chart hits over the following year, among them the release “Sesame Street” credited to Scotty & the Crystalites; he also contributed to the soundtrack of The Harder They Come in 1973. His solo single “Riddle I This” was later chosen as the opening track on the compilation The Trojan Story, Vol. 2, issued in the late 1990s to chronicle the label’s history.
In 1974 Scotty relocated to the United States, where he established a record company and a recording studio in Florida. His career lost momentum toward the end of the decade, and attempts to resume recording in Jamaica during the 1980s met with little success. Fresh sessions had begun again in more recent years, including work on an album for Studio One, when prostate cancer claimed his life in early 2003 at age 53, although some sources record his age as 51.