RIP THE WHISPERS' WALTER SCOTT
Co- leader of the hit making, show stopping LA based vocal quartet
https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/walter-scott-death-whispers-member-dead-cancer-battle-1236009049/
The R&B vocal group tradition has been on its last legs for a generation. These days middle aged folks pay good money to see New Edition or Boys II Men at summer festivals, squeezed in amongst old school MCs and new jack swing singers. But before hip hop changed the direction of black musical culture one of the standard bearers of the stand up singing groups were the Whispers, a satin smooth Los Angeles based quartet led by two diminutive twin brothers Wallace and Walter Scott, who utilized church harmonies and jazz phrasing in a long career that peaked in the ‘80s with a string of danceable singles on SOLAR (Sound of Los Angeles Records.)
The Whispers struggled to breakthrough in the disco era, having some regional hits on the West Coast (eg: the cautionary ballad “Lost and Turned Out”). I saw them at a New York nightclub in the disco era and was impressed by their vocals and the slick ass choreography of their three taller background vocalists. In fact the Whispers put on one of the best live shows in R&B with sharp twists and turns on stage that put them in competition with the Temptations, O’Jays and Glady Knight’s Pips as avatars of suit wearing elegance. Moveover Solar records owner Dick Griffey was tight with Soul Train’s Don Cornelius, so the Whispers were regulars on his weekly broadcasts.
However the group lacked hits. That changed with Leon Sylvers III was brought in by Griffey to work with the Whispers. Though underappreciated today, Sylvers was a brilliant bassist, songwriter and producer who created a catalog of songs that wedded dance floor percolation with romantic lyrics inspired by disco, but avoided its musical cliches. The former teen performer (he’d been part of the family act the Sylvers) created huge singles for the trio Shalamar and then ignited the Whispers’ career with their breakthrough recording “And the Beat Goes On” in 1979. They’d go on to score 15 top ten R&B hits, including “Rock Steady” in 1987, which helped introduce the world to the formidable production team of Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.
On “Keep on Movin’ Me,” Scotty scats in the middle of the tune. The backing vocals ask “Hey Scotty, what’s that mean?” For decades it meant creamly lead vocals and superb showmanship.
RIP Walter Scott. Dead at 81 years old.