Howard E. Scott

{{Short description|American funk/rock guitarist (born 1946)}} {{BLP sources|date=June 2011}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Howard E. Scott | image =  | image_size =  | background = solo_singer | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1946|3|15|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[San Pedro, Los Angeles, California]], U.S. | instrument = {{hlist|[[Guitar]]|[[Vocals]]}} | genre = {{hlist|[[Funk music|Funk]]|[[Rock music|rock]]}} | occupation = {{hlist|Musician|songwriter|bandleader}} | years_active = 1964–present | label = | associated_acts = [[War (American band)|War]], [[Lowrider Band]] | website = [http://www.Lowriderband.com Lowriderband.com] }}

'''Howard E. Scott''' (born March 15, 1946) is an American funk/rock guitarist and founding member of the successful 1970s funk band [[War (American band)|War]].

==Biography== Scott grew up in [[Compton, California]]. He began playing bass at a very young age under the guidance of his cousin, Jack Nelson, and in 1961 began playing guitar. A year later, he formed a group called the Creators with [[Harold Ray Brown|Harold Brown]], and together they played at high school dances, car club parties and small nightclubs in southern California. Scott was influenced by blues artists T.J. Summerville, [[Howlin Wolf]], [[Muddy Waters]], [[Jimmy Reed]] and [[Wayne Bennett (blues guitarist)|Wayne Bennett]]. He frequented the local blues clubs in [[South Los Angeles]] to study professionals such as [[Lowell Fulson]], [[Johnny Guitar Watson]] and [[T-Bone Walker]].

Howard graduated from [[Compton High School]] in 1964 where he was on the school's dance band and cross country team.<ref name='Compton-1964-Scott'>{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/1265/sid_4977_1964_0066?pid=565462564&backurl=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc%3DrXr11778%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue%26indiv%3D1%26_phtarg%3DrXr11776,rXr11777%26dbid%3D1265%26gsfn%3DHoward%26gsln%3DScott%26gsfn_x%3D1%26gsln_x%3D1%26msrpn__ftp%3Dcompton,%2520los%2520angeles,%2520california,%2520usa%26msrpn__ftp_x%3D1%26msrpn%3D68282%26msrpn_x%3D1%26new%3D1%26rank%3D1%26uidh%3Dht4%26redir%3Dfalse%26msT%3D1%26gss%3Dangs-d%26pcat%3D37%26fh%3D0%26h%3D565462564%26recoff%3D%26ml_rpos%3D1%26queryId%3D069e8caf573eec2b6f6ca7e214c301df&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=069e8caf573eec2b6f6ca7e214c301df&usePUB=true&_phsrc=rXr11778&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true|title=El Companile 64 "Howard Scott" (Compton High School, Compton, California)|author= |date=1964 |website=Ancestry.com |publisher=Generations Network|url-access=subscription|access-date=16 May 2020 }}</ref> He toured with [[The Drifters]] for a short time until he was drafted into the [[United States Army]] in 1966. Upon his return, he formed his second group, The Night Shift, with Harold Brown. In 1969, the Night Shift was performing at the Rag Doll club in North Hollywood , when [[Eric Burdon]] and [[Lee Oskar]] stopped in to hear them play. Lee Oskar went to the stage to join in on a jam, and the next day Eric Burdon, Lee Oskar, [[Charles Miller (musician)|Charles Miller]], [[Papa Dee Allen]], [[Lonnie Jordan]] and [[Peter Rosen]] joined Scott and Brown to form the band War.

Scott contributed lyrics, music and co-produced some of War's greatest hits, such as "[[The Cisco Kid (song)|Cisco Kid]]", "Slipping into Darkness" and "[[Why Can’t We Be Friends?]]". He was also the frontman and leader of the group. Scott and other members eventually left the original band in the 1990s, losing the right to use the band's name.

Scott now performs regularly with his nephew, [[B.B. Dickerson]], [[Lee Oskar]] and [[Harold Ray Brown|Harold Brown]] as the [[Lowrider Band]].<ref>Lowrider Band Stands the Test of Time, Brooks, Brandon. Los Angeles Sentinel, 08-06-2009</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p123252|pure_url=yes}} Howard E. Scott] on [[AllMusic]] *[http://www.howardscottband.com Howard Scott Band] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929062502/http://www.howardscottband.com/ |date=2007-09-29 }} *[http://lowriderband.com Lowrider Band] *https://www.facebook.com/Lowriderband

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Howard E.}} [[Category:1946 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century American guitarists]] [[Category:African-American guitarists]] [[Category:American funk guitarists]] [[Category:American male guitarists]] [[Category:American rock guitarists]] [[Category:Guitarists from Los Angeles]] [[Category:Compton High School alumni]] [[Category:People from San Pedro, Los Angeles]] [[Category:War (band) members]] [[Category:Lowrider Band members]]