Creed Taylor Produced

[This is a major refresh of an article originally posted on March 25th, 2020.]

For my first post about Creeds ABC-Paramount, or Am-Par records period, I chose Patricia Scot’s Once Around The Clock. It is a masterpiece of easy listening jazz vocals. Most importantly, though, when I reached out to Scot, now Patricia Yorton, I received an enthusiastic response from the singer herself, willing to do an interview in early 2020.

Here are four sides from Patricia Scot’s earliest recordings. They were recorded from 78 RPM 10″ records in uncompressed 9600hz. lightly repaired for clicks etc. re-equalized and exported to 4800hz 320kbps MP3’s. [The original Creed Taylor/Kenyon Hopkins/Patricia Scot mix originally posted with biographical sketch can be found at the end.]

It’s important for context to understand the time and place the album was recorded: New York City, 1959. If you have watched any of the Amazon Studios’ Mrs. Maisel series, it’s right about then, especially since Lenny Bruce makes an appearance here and in Mrs Maisel.

At that time, 30-year-old Creed Taylor had recorded four albums with Chris Connor for Bethlehem, including the iconic Lullaby of Birdland; Eydie Gorme had been signed as Am-Par’s first artist, and by the time her album and single came out in September 1955, the company had changed to ABC-Paramount. In 1959, ABC-Paramount was still pumping out Gorme albums. Over at Verve, Taylor’s future boss, Norman Granz, had Anita O’Day as one of his star singers. A good live female singer was essential for a label’s success. Creed needed his female vocalist.

In 1956, Taylor had recorded Chicago club scene vocal duo Jackie & Roy. They had been singers with Charlie Venturers’ band in the late 1940s and early ’50s – one of the singers brought in following the departure of Jackie & Roy had been a young Patricia Scot ^[1]http://www.patriciascot.com/bio.html. Jackie & Roy have their own place in the Creed Taylor Pantheon which lasted well into the 1970s.

Starting Out – Milwaukee Then Chicago Called

At seventeen, the would be Patricia Scot was already threading her voice through Milwaukee’s club circuit, fronting local groups before landing a national tour with the Tommy Reed Band—Chicago-based, road-tested, and emblematic of mid-century swing-on-the-move. Returning from the tour, she adopted the stage name of Patricia Scot.

Clipping from Chicago Tribune October 6th, 1952 Pg27. “Inquiring camera girl column” Question: Do you think Americans get enough exercise?

Questions asked at the Sherman Hotel.

Perhaps her earliest recording “Get Away From Me” was released on both an Amijo Records 78 RPM/10″ and Magickist 45 RPM/7″ with Chuck Sagle and His Orchestra ^[2]https://www.discogs.com/release/15760067-Patricia-Scot-Get-Away-From-Me-Wont-This-Night-Ever-End ^[3]Magickist was an Argo imprint that released promotional records for the Magickist Carpet Cleaning Company of Chicago; Amijo was another 1950s Chicago label, founded in 1954 by Ami and Joe Giampa.

In 1954, Scot was signed to and heavily promoted by the Chicago based Tiffany label. “I’m Giving All My Love To You” was reviewed in the June 12, 1954 issue of Cash Box magazine, Patricia was described as “polished” and an “excellent wax performer who should make the grade.” Billboard July 31, 1954 – Pg42 carried a vertical half page advert for Tiffany Records leading with “Introducing The Great New Voice…”

Tiffany Records also ran a smaller advert in the August 14th, 1954; Pg36; August 28th, 1954 Pg58; September 11th, 1954 Pg50 issues of The Billboard.

CBS talent director George Ramsby brought her into WBBM for a morning radio slot, which snowballed into a five-year run on the hit TV show In Town Tonight. TV Guide named her “Best Female Singer” in 1955.

Now a “local TV luminary”, Scot signed to appear at the new “Downbeat Room” at 624 Michigan Ave., formerly the Starlight Room which had featured mambo music. Also on the roster for the Downbeat was Johnnie Pate and Don Shirley. The Downbeat was one of a growing list of new clubs in Chicago at the time that would feature jazz ^[4]Down Beat – November 4th, 1955 Page-7. The Downbeat was managed by Lou Denet, who had been the manager of the now-defunct Streamliner club. Scot had been on the roster there as well.

Pat can be seen singing on In Town Tonight is this youtube video ^[5]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjrT1jkdd2E – Patricia Scot singing on “In Town Tonight”.

It was reported in April of 1958 ^[6]Down Beat – April 3rd, 1958 – Pg 11 that “Pat Scot was anxious to depart the cast of Chicago CBS station’s ‘In Town Tonight’ TV show to join her husband, satirist and comedy hot-shot Mike Nichols.”

While Discogs has a pretty complete listing of Scot’s discography ^[7]https://www.discogs.com/artist/2100949-Patricia-Scot, her own website has streamable versions of most of her earliest tracks for Tiffany, Wing ^[8]Wing was a subsidiary of the Mercury Record Group for whom she signed in 1955 according to Billboard October 15th, 1955; Down Beat November 16th, 1955, etc. ^[9]http://www.patriciascot.com/tiffany_listen.html. In the Billboard November 12th, 1955 Pg77; November 19th, 1955 Pg33) issues – Wing ran a full-page advert for it’s new releases, including Patricia Scot’s “So Many Beautiful Men” backed with “A Dangerous Age”. The same adverts also ran in the corresponding Cash Box issues.

She made national syndicated press in December 1955, appearing in more than 200 newspapers with a mention in Walter Winchell’s “On Broadway” column. The paragraph led with a mention of Audrey Hepburn’s eyebrow booster, followed by the question, “Have you whirled Patricia Scott’s new disc: So Many Beautiful Men?” – It was even included in Time Magazine, November 21st, 1955 which said “So Many Beautiful Men (Patricia Scot; Wing). A strange lament about an embarrassment of riches, sung in a silky but energetic tone over a bouncing beat.”

In recording terms, Patricia Scot dropped off the page after the Wing adverts and the Winchell column. The Chicago Tribune continued reporting; it included that Scot was to be crowned “Miss Seabee” in February 1956. A year earlier, Scot had been “The Candy Sweetheart” for “Candy Carnival Week!” Seabees was a charity organization that raised money for children’s mental health and cerebral palsy.

Scot had long performed at charity events; right after high school graduation in Milwaukee, she performed at hospitals for wounded veterans. In October 1956, the Trib’ reported that Scot had been chosen for the annual “Miss Navy Day” ^[10]Chicago Tribune Thu, Oct 25, 1956 ·Pg 7.

How Did The Album Come About?

On moving to NYC, by Patricia had sets in June at The Den, a New York supper club in the Hotel Duane, where she was listed as “indefinitely” along with comedy legend Lenny Bruce ^[11]June 25th, 1959 – Down Beat – Pg50. Another venue she would appear at was the The Blue Angel club. Jack Rollins, Mike’s manager and a major talent agent who would go on to manage and co-produce all of Woody Allen’s films, arranged one night for Creed Taylor to come to the Blue Angel. The recording deal with Creed followed.

The Creed Taylor Orchestra was actually an alias for the Kenyon Hopkins Orchestra, which was under exclusive contract to Capitol Records at the time. Creed and Kenyon went on to record a number of concept albums, such as Shock; Lonelyville “The Nervous Beat”; Panic The Son of Shock and others together. They would go on to create the seminal Sound Tour album series together in 1961/62.

The orchestra for this recording was a small group of jazz all-stars, featuring a woodwind section of Phil Woods and Jerome Richardson; trombones were Jimmy Cleveland, Dick Hixson, Jim Dahl, and Frank Rehak; and one of the all-time greats, Don Lamond, on drums. Joe Venuto played vibes and bongos, while Milt Hinton and Al Hall were on bass. As was typical of the day, they were uncredited on the album sleeve.

In the Creed Taylor pantheon, Once Around The Clock came after Lonelyville in 1959 and before Panic in 1960, both done with Bob [Kenyon] Hopkins. Prior to recording, Scot was able to choose most of the songs from her cabaret sets and from current popular songs of the day, and Hopkins set about working on the arrangements and getting the orchestra together.

When recording day came around for Pat, she was surprised to find she would be recording to pre-recorded orchestra tapes. For someone who had earned her chops in live clubs and on tour with a live orchestra, this was a very different way to make music. They spent 3 days recording; of that time, Scot said of Creed:

While mostly quiet, Creed had very clear ideas how he wanted some of the lines in songs, and they style of the song. He became impatient when I was unable to sing a specific line the way he wanted it on the track Do It Again.

Interview with Patricia Scot, March 18th, 2020

As well as not meeting the musicians, recording vocals in a booth presented other challenges for a predominantly live performer. Scot says she’d have preferred not to have sung with four trombones on backing, as that impacted how she sang. Scot also wanted to change the ending of one song, and while Taylor/Kenyon agreed to the change, the music was re-recorded. When the album came out, it wasn’t the “Count Basie-style ending” that Scot had wanted.

In the July 13th, 1959 issue of The Billboard, in an article about an Am-Par distributors meeting, it was announced that Patricia Scot would be part of the fall lineup of albums recorded by Creed Taylor, along with Leo Diamond and flamenco guitarist Sabicas ^[12]I’ve previously covered this period in http://ctproduced.com/the-abc-of-specialty-recording/. The albums first press mention was in the “Audition” the Billboard monthly shopping guide, published on August 31st, 1959. Cost $3.98 for mono and $4.98 for stereo.

The album was reviewed in the September 7th, 1959 issue of Billboard which said:

Patricia Scot with the Creed Taylor Ork. ABC-Paramount ABC 301

Miss Scot, the wife of Mike Nichols of the comedy team Nichols and May, makes her disk debut.
The gal has an expressive, wink-in-the-eye quality that’s definitely pleasing. She’s not quite jazz, but there’s a trend in that direction with certain touches also of the smart night club style. A band of jazz performers under Creed Taylor supports the thrush admirably in tunes like “You Leave
Me Breathless,” and “Mad About the Boy.”

Billboard Magazine – September 7th, 1959, Pg26

Nat Hentoff was less impressed, in his review for HiFi Review in which he categorized the interest as “thin”, the performance as mannered and the recording as competent his review was somewhat brash:

Patricia Scot, wife of Mike Nichols (Nichols and May) has had experience as a band and supper club singer. Her first album is unfortunate in that her style is excessively self-conscious. Her phrasing is
tricky. She strains constantly for immediate effects rather than considers the shape of the whole interpretation . It’s possible that if she were to calm down and just sing, Miss Scot might have something to say; but this is much too hypertensive a set of performances to recommend.

There are times when she sounds breathless, and it’s easy to understand why. Bob Kenyon’s nervous arrangements don’t help at all.

HiFi Review – December 1959, Pg126.

The Album

The end result is a pleasing, lightweight jazz orchestra album. The title track Once Around The Clock sounds just like tracks from the earlier Hopkins/Taylor recordings; as is for me, a classic recording of Noel Coward’s Mad About The Boy. They feature Hopkins’ spare, light arrangements which tease out a useful atmosphere for Scots’ accomplished, smooth vocals.

Get On Board – is almost Miller-esque, in its treatment. I get the feeling Let’s Sit Down And Talk It Over is the sort of track that Scot would have been at home with while on tour with the Charlie Ventura band. Having talked to Scot, I can’t listen to Do It Again without imagining Marilyn Monroe trying to sing “no no no, but do it again,” in the style of Monroe’s breathless Happy Birthday, Mr. President, sung a few years later. Meanwhile, I imagine Scot sailing through it with a cheeky grin and a glint in her eye.

ALBUM Reception

The album never made the charts, and as far as Patricia could recall, she wasn’t asked to do any promotional work. She felt the album failed due to “lack of promotion.” Even though the album was part of the ABC-Paramount “Fall Fiesta Album Release” and ABC-Paramount was running four sales conventions around America to promote Fall Fiesta to its distributors, the album failed to gain traction in sales.

Looking at the album line-up in the full-page advertisement, which ran in both Cash Box and Billboard magazines, it’s easy to see why. In the Fall Fiesta albums, there were a number of the label’s vocal headliners. Four Taylor-produced albums were included, which were among 28 albums he would produce in 1959. In fact, it had been a phenomenally productive year for Creed, recording two albums with Sabicas, the new Spanish flamenco guitarist.

It’s easy to see why Taylor didn’t record a follow-up. Add low sales and the fact that, by her own admission, Patricia hadn’t been able to deliver some of the lines and songs the way Creed had wanted; it was the end of the road for Scot on ABC-Paramount.

By 2009, the album was out of copyright in Japan and was issued on CD, with no royalties going to Scot. That same CD version is now available for streaming from online services and for purchase as a download. The album was awarded 4.5/5 stars by Samuel Chell, reviewing for All About Jazz.

It was Taylor who decided to present Patricia Scot as a “stand-up” vocalist. Based on this early-’60s recording, his faith was not misplaced.

Scot’s vocal quality is live and vibrant yet widely expressive, ranging from humorous (“Speed of Light”) to intense and deeply felt (Noel Coward’s “Mad About the Boy”). The vocal register, timbre and vitality are suggestive of a hip Julie Andrews, but the urgency and sincerity recall Billie Holiday.

Samuel Chell, All About Jazz, August 1,st, 2009.

None of Scot’s releases appeared in the album or singles charts, it is worth noting that “Once Around the Clock” was included in the October 1959 list of popular albums ^[13]Cash Box – October 10th, 1959 Pg 38. Scot’s divorce from Nichols in 1960 must have been a challenging time for her, yet by 1961, she had returned to the cabaret circuit as a singer, doing what she did best, singing.

In 1999, she met trumpeter Jack Yorton. Together they formed the quartet “Prime Time“, married in 2000, and played throughout Central Florida until 2008—including a brief run with Sebring’s big band outfit, “The Golden Era.”

Most recently, I believe that not only was Patricia Scot’s “So Many Beautiful Men” included on Volume-1 of a 2-volume CD release by Japan’s NORMA label, but Scot can also be seen on the cover ^[14]https://le-chat-bleu.com/9565/ Japanese music store.

Mini-Mix Scot and Hopkins (Creed Taylor Produced)

1. The Sound Of New York – Kenyon Hopkins, The Sound Of New York album, ABC 2269
2. Johnny – Creed Taylor Orchestra and Chorus, Barrack Room Ballads, ABC 317
3. Just Once Around The Clock – Patricia Scot with the Creed Taylor Orchestra, ABC 301
4. Nothing At All – Patricia Scot with the Creed Taylor Orchestra, ABC 301
5. Dianne – Creed Taylor Orchestra and Chorus, Barrack Room Ballads, ABC 317
6. Mad About The Boy – Patricia Scot with the Creed Taylor Orchestra, ABC 301
7. I’ll Be Seeing You – Creed Taylor Orchestra and Chorus, Barrack Room Ballads, ABC 317
8. Lullaby Of Broadway – Kenyon Hopkins

More Information

Chicago Tribune Interview – [January 2021 interview about her start and life with Mike Nichols]
Once Around The Clock – Patricia Scot [full album vis music.youtube, free with ads]
Kenyon Hopkins [Other recordings via music.youtube, free with ads]
Once Around The Clock [Discogs listing]
Patricia Scot [Discogs artist page]

UPDATES:
10/29/20: Formatting of headings, color etc.
02/03/2025 Minor spelling and grammar cleanup.
8/20/2025 Added additional early career discussion, link to youtube video and a rewrite of the period leading up to the ABC Paramount recording as well as reviews and more.
4/4/2026 Added TOC; revised headings