Rhoda Scott

• Name — Rhoda Scott • Birth Name — Rhoda Scott • Alias — The Barefoot Lady • Born — 3 July 1938 • Birthplace — Dorothy neighborhood of Weymouth Township, New Jersey • Genre — soul jazz • Occupation — Musician Organist Singer • Instruments — Organ • Years Active — 1955 - Present

Scott was born and raised in the Dorothy neighborhood of Weymouth Township, New Jersey, the first child to a Black travelling minister father and a white mother. She has six siblings. Her parents were themselves musicians, playing piano and organ, and singing as well. As a minister, her father moved frequently to different small churches and he would take her along with him to where he worked, where she heard her first gospels and spirituals. Scott was first attracted to the organ in her father's church at age seven. "It's really the most beautiful instrument in the world", she stated in a 2002 interview. "The first thing I did was take my shoes off and work the pedals." From then on she always played her church organ in her bare feet, a practice she continued for decades. As a nine-year-old, she took over as the church organist when her predecessor called in sick. Around 12 or 13, Scott served as a piano tutor at her boarding school, work she continued into high school at the New Jersey Manual Training School in Bordentown, New Jersey. She enrolled at Westminster Choir College at age 16, and there discovered Bach. She remained at Westminster for two years, before financial concerns led to her leaving for a job as a bookkeeper at a fashion designer. She later studied music theory at the Manhattan School of Music. At 20 years old, Scott began to play the organ in an R&B group. She soon founded her own groups, gigging around metro New York, eventually opening for Count Basie in Newark, where he invited her to play his Harlem club. In 1963, she recorded her first album, Live! at the Key Club (Tru-Sound/Prestige TSLP-15014). She also met Eddie Barclay, who paid $75 to acquire one of her songs, Hey Hey Hey that became a big hit. Little by little, Scott toured in every state in America, but tired of her group: In 1967, Scott moved to France, where she has since spent most of her career. As well as making a career in jazz, Scott has also continued playing the organ in church: For forty years, she was the organist at her parish church in Perche, France.

Scott married a Frenchman, actor-singer Raoul Saint-Yves, in 1968, after which he became her manager. They had two children, both adopted, who were born in Haiti.

• Succès de L'Orgue (Barclay 950.065, 1974) • 16 Grands Succès (Barclay 200.388, 1975) • Le Disque D'or: Rhoda Scott (Barclay 90.326, 1979) • Take Five / In the Mood / Summertime... (Barclay 96.083 [2LP], 1980) - note: LP1= previously unreleased material; LP2= compilation of material from 1975-1977. • Summertime (Verve 847862, 1991) - CD compilation • Rhoda Scott Live (Verve 847863, 1991) - CD compilation; different from Barclay 91.063 • Rhoda Scott and Guests (Verve 847864, 1991) - CD compilation • Negro Spirituals (Verve 511477, 1991) - CD compilation; different from Barclay 817102 • Stardust (Verve 511478, 1991) - CD compilation • Take Five (Verve 511479, 1991) - CD compilation • Les Orgues de Noël (Verve 527035, 1994) - CD compilation; different from Barclay 90.147 • Paris-New York (Universal 0602527976587 [2CD], 2012) - CD compilation/reissue of Barclay 920.168, 920.350, 90.068

Rhoda Scott is recorded as having received Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres and Knight of the Legion of Honour. Identity and origins. She also worked under the name The Barefoot Lady. The authorities additionally record the heading Barefoot lady. She married Raoul Saint-Yves.