Jack Scott was a Canadian-American singer and songwriter described as the greatest Canadian rock and roll singer of all time.
Scott was born Giovanni Domenico Scafone, Jr. in Windsor, Ontario in 1936 but grew up on the other side of the river, not far from Detroit. At 18 Scott formed the Southern Drifters and led the group for three years before signing to ABC/Paramount in 1957 as a solo artist.
Scott had grown up listening to country and it showed in his earliest recordings. While many of his tracks had a tough edge, it was tear-jerking ballads which proved his greatest hits. 'My True Love', paired as a double-A-side with 'Leroy', was the track that really announced Scott to the world. It peaked at number three and cracked the English top ten, leading to a number of minor hits supported by his backing group the Chantones.
Scott had his last two top ten hits in 1960 with 'What in the World's Come Over You' and 'Burning Bridges'. He continued to perform and record through the '60s and '70s and would occasionally turn up at oldies shows through the '80s and '90s.
In 2011 Scott was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. On December 12, 2019 Scott died of congestive heart failure aged 83.
