…..continued from home page

Raymond Scott first came to the attention of the music world on CBS radio with his innovative group the Raymond Scott Quintette in late 1936. He went on to a career that included writing music for and appearances in several Hollywood films, a touring Big Band and in the 1940s forming the first integrated radio orchestra—a big band jazz group that was a critical favorite. It included jazz greats like Coleman Hawkins and Cozy Cole.

Along the way many of his highly original musical compositions, with their characteristic sophisticated yet quirky melodies and rhythms, were licensed by Warner Brothers for use in their cartoons. If you’ve ever been entertained by the wacky antics of Bugs Bunny, Road Runner and Wily Coyote you’ve almost surely heard his music, and he’s been called “the man who made cartoons swing.”

Later in the 1940s he wrote the music for the Broadway musical Lute Song, which starred Yul Brynner and Mary Martin. In the 1950s he led the orchestra on Your Hit Parade, composed several film scores and wrote jingles. But this work was minor compared to the work he was doing in the emerging field of electronic music. He had always been fascinated by the technology of music and was a highly accomplished audio engineer.

From the 1950s through the 1970s he invented and refined a dazzling array of electronic musical instruments (as well as other devices like an early fax machine) that were years ahead of what was being done elsewhere. Scott’s crowning invention, The Electronium, which he described as ”an instantaneous composition and performance machine,” was bought by Berry Gordy for Motown Records and Scott worked for Motown for several years as their Director of Electronic Music Research and Development.

When his years at Motown ended he spent several more years on the Electronium and other electronic music projects, until he was crippled by a stroke which rendered him unable to work. He died in Van Nuys, California in 1994.

He was married three times and fathered four children, one of whom is making this documentary. This is the official website for the film.