Winfield Scott (songwriter)

Winfield Scott (November 27, 1920 – October 26, 2015), also known as Robie Kirk, was an American songwriter and singer. He wrote or co-wrote the hit songs "Tweedle Dee" for LaVern Baker, and he was a co-writer with Otis Blackwell of "Return to Sender" for Elvis Presley.^[1] "Return to Sender", written for the Presley film Girls! Girls! Girls!, was a U.K. No.1 single and peaked at No.2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Scott was born in Bloomfield, New Jersey. In the 1950s, he was a member of a vocal group, The Cues.^[2]

Scott was a longtime collaborator of Otis Blackwell and together they were hired to write a song for the Elvis Presley film Roustabout. While the film was released in 1964, the song "I'm a Roustabout" was not used, producer Hal Wallis instead preferring "Roustabout", written by Bill Giant, Bernie Baum and Florence Kaye, as the title song.^[3] In 2003, a remark made to Peter Guarraci, a Star Ledger reporter, by Scott started a search for the lost recording of the Presley song, which was eventually found and released on the 2003 Elvis Presley compilation album, 2nd to None.^[4][5] Another Scott and Blackwell collaboration is the R&B classic "Home In Your Heart".^[6]

Scott also wrote "Many Tears Ago" for Connie Francis. Released in October, 1960, the song reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Scott died on October 26, 2015, at age 94.^[2]

Partial song list

• "Tweedlee Dee" (LaVern Baker and The Gliders)
• "Burn That Candle" (Bill Haley, Emmylou Harris)
• "Bop-Ting-a-Ling" with Blackwell (LaVern Baker)
• "We’re Comin’ In Loaded" with Blackwell (Elvis Presley)
• "(Such an) Easy Question" with Blackwell (Elvis Presley)
• "Return to Sender" with Blackwell (Elvis Presley)
• "One Broken Heart for Sale" with Blackwell (Elvis Presley)
• "Oh Why?" (Little Richard)
• "Please Don’t Drag That String Around" with Blackwell (Elvis Presley)
• "Long Legged Girl (with the Short Dress On)" with Leslie McFarland (Elvis Presley)
• I'm a Roustabout with Blackwell (Elvis Presley)
• "Stranger in the Crowd" (Elvis Presley)
• "Comfy'n Cozy" with Blackwell (Conway Twitty)
• "A Bucket of Tears" (Peggy Lee)
• "Sweetheart" (Peggy Lee)
• "That's Right" (Mills Brothers) 1956
• "Mister Moon" (Pat Boone) 1963
• "Many Tears Ago" (Connie Francis)

References

External links

• Interview with Winfield Scott
• Lost Elvis Song I'm a Roustabout

This page was last edited on 3 March 2024, at 10:48