Robert Scott Biography

Legendary American comedian Don Rickles eases into his barbers chair in LA , Sinatra’s Summerwind is playing in the background. Rickles starts to reminisce on the times he spent with Frank Sinatra in Vegas and of his affection for the great singer and of how the world has changed. All too soon the haircut and stories are over. As he is paying for his trim he is shocked to hear that the voice he has been listening to was not Sinatra’s. On looking at the offending cd he finds he has been duped by a singer called Robert Scott! Bemused he smiles, shakes his head and simply says “the kid got me”.

Don Rickles wasn’t the first and probably won’t be the last person to be fooled by Robert Scott’s uncanny vocal resemblance to Frank Sinatra. On hearing Robert sing live Fred Dellar, author of “ Frank Sinatra his Life and Times” described the authenticity of the sound as “nothing less than astonishing”. The night Dellar heard Robert perform was in London at The Oceans 11 Film premiere party at the Café De Paris, where stars and guests were equally amazed and delighted.

So how does an ex professional golfer born on the west coast of Scotland recreate this incredible Sinatra sound. If you ask him he’ll tell you he has no idea, only that Sinatra’s singing style seams to him like the most natural thing in the world. Did he hear Sinatra’s music when he was young, yes of course, but the first thing he can ever rember hearing was Thelonius Monk! along with Count Basie, Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Stevie Wonder.

Robert Scott’s public singing career began when he walked into an open mic bar in Glasgow in 1998. Instantly people began to comment on the similarity between his voice and Sinatra’s.

Over the next two years he continued to perform in small bars and jazz haunts. Robert’s girlfriend sent a tape of him singing to a talent show, Stars in Their Eyes, a UK national television soundalike show that ran for sixteen years. It was very popular at the time and drew audiences of between 8 million and 17 million. Robert was accepted straight away and appeared on the show in the year 2000.

Since that appearance Robert has sang in Theatres, Concert Halls and Nightclubs in the UK, Europe and the US. He has performed live on Radio many times and his voice has been used in various commercials. He has also built up a large and impressive list of Corporate and Private clients. He was asked by Turner Classic Movies to perform at The Belfast Film Festival celebrating Sinatra’s Oscar winning role in From Here to Eternity.

Robert achieved a life long ambition in 2005 when he was the Vocalist on The Sinatra 90th Anniversary Tour with The BBC Radio Big Band led by MD Barry Forgie. They toured major UK and Ireland theatres to rave reviews. Forgie had won a Sony world music award in 1998 for his work on BBC Radio’s monumental Sinatra series, his knowledge of Sinatra’s music coupled with Robert’s vocals and a world class big band produced concerts of a standard truly fitting to celebrate the life and music of the great singer. The Concert they did in Dublin was recorded and aired by RTE Radio.

Robert continues to entertain Sinatra fans in many varied settings making new friends everywhere he goes. A recent highlight being a performance for members and guests of Oakhill Country Club, Rochester New York. Robert admitted to being a little nervous as to how he would be received by a New York audience, having listened to him many times and being a Sinatra fanatic born in New Jersey I know that he needn’t have worried, they loved it. Robert is a friendly and unassuming guy, foremost a Sinatra fan who is the first to acknowledge that there was and only ever could be one Sinatra. However in my opinion he is the owner of the closest sounding voice you are ever likely to hear.

Ben Jones
Sinatra Society of America.