Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow, September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, recording studio maverick, and inventor of electronic instruments.
Born Harry Warnow in Brooklyn on September 10, 1908, he was a musical prodigy, playing piano by the age of two; following high school, he planned to study engineering, but his older brother Mark -- himself a successful violinist and conductor -- had other ideas,
![]()
buying his sibling a Steinway Grand and persuading him to attend the Institute of Musical Art, later rechristened the Juilliard School. After graduating in 1931, Scott -- the name supposedly picked at random out of the Manhattan phone book -- signed on as a staff pianist with the CBS radio network house band conducted by his brother. Finding the repertoire dull and uninspired, he began presenting his own compositions to his band mates, and soon bizarre Scott originals like "Confusion Among a Fleet of Taxicabs Upon Meeting with a Fare" began creeping into broadcasts.
Still, for all of Scott's eccentricities, his records flew off the shelves, their Dadaist titles ("Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals,""Reckless Night on Board an Oceanliner," and "Boy Scout in Switzerland") and juxtaposed melodies, odd time signatures, and quirky arrangements somehow connected with
![]()
mainstream American audiences. Hollywood soon came calling, with the Quintette performing music for features including Nothing Sacred, Ali Baba Goes to Town, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Upon returning to New York, in 1938 Scott was tapped to become CBS' next music director; around the same time he expanded the Quintette to big-band size, and by 1940 quit his network position to lead his ensemble on tour. He returned to CBS in 1942, however, assembling the first racially mixed studio orchestra in broadcast history.
mainstream American audiences. Hollywood soon came calling, with the Quintette performing music for features including Nothing Sacred, Ali Baba Goes to Town, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Upon returning to New York, in 1938 Scott was tapped to become CBS' next music director; around the same time he expanded the Quintette to big-band size, and by 1940 quit his network position to lead his ensemble on tour. He returned to CBS in 1942, however, assembling the first racially mixed studio orchestra in broadcast history.
In 1946, Scott founded Manhattan Research, the world's first electronic music studio. Housing equipment including a Martenot, an Ondioline, and a specially modified Hammond organ, it was advertised as "the world's most extensive facility for the creation of Electronic Music and Musique Concrete." Of all of Scott's accomplishments of 1949, however, none was more important than the Electronium, one of the first synthesizers ever created.
![]()
His other inventions included the "Karloff," an early sampler capable of re-creating sounds ranging from sizzling steaks to jungle drums; the Clavinox, a keyboard Theremin complete with an electronic sub-assembly designed by a then 23-year-old Robert Moog; and the Videola, which fused together a keyboard and a TV screen to aid in composing music for films and other moving images.
His other inventions included the "Karloff," an early sampler capable of re-creating sounds ranging from sizzling steaks to jungle drums; the Clavinox, a keyboard Theremin complete with an electronic sub-assembly designed by a then 23-year-old Robert Moog; and the Videola, which fused together a keyboard and a TV screen to aid in composing music for films and other moving images.Raymond Scott Conducts the Rock 'n Roll Symphony In addition to hosting Your Hit Parade, Scott continued recording throughout the '50s, issuing LPs including This Time with Strings, At Home with Dorothy & Raymond, and Rock 'N' Roll Symphony. Additionally,
![]()
he cranked out advertising jingles at an astonishing rate, scored countless film and television projects, and even founded a pair of record labels, Audiovox and Master, while serving as A&R director for Everest Records.
During the mid-'50s, Scott assembled a new Quintette; the 1962 edition of the group was its last. The year following, he began work on the three-volume LP set Soothing Sounds for Baby, an "aural toy" designed to create a comforting yet stimulating environment for infants. As electronic music produced to inspire and relax, the records fit snugly into the definition of ambient suggested by Brian Eno a decade later, their minimalist dreamscapes also predating Philip Glass and Terry Riley.
a 1969 musical celebrating the centennial of Kentucky Bourbon was his last orchestral work, with his remaining years spent solely on electronic composition. Scott was still composing music on computer in his 70s, but a series of heart attacks and strokes in the early 90s left him unable to work, speak or communicate. He died on February 4th, 1994, at the age of 85.
(Compiled and edited mainly from All Music)