By Paul Freeman [1994 Feature]

Fame can indeed be fleeting. Raymond Scott, a hugely successful composer/pianist/bandleader in the 30s, 40s and 50s, became a forgotten man. His health deteriorated. His wealth evaporated. His place in musical history was being utterly ignored.

He died on February 10, 1994, at the age of 85. But prior to his passing a rediscovery had begun.

It's not that the music itself had ever disappeared. In fact, Scott's music is heard every day in practically every country in the world. Chunks of his distinctive jazz-pop compositions, which are as off-beat as they are upbeat, were used in many, many 1940s Warner Bros. cartoons. On TV and movie screens, Bugs, Daffy, Porky and Tweety continue to cavort to Scott's melodies, which are indeed merrie. Ren and Stimpy, the Simpsons, Duckman and Animaniacs are among the modern animated characters also now bopping to Scott's infectious sounds.

Irwin Chusid, a New Jersey writer/record producer/WFMU radio personality has been instrumental in preserving and calling attention to Raymond Scott's work. Chusid points out that the composer never wrote a single note for the cartoons. Scott's publishing rights had been sold to Warner Bros. in 1943 and the studio utilized whatever it believed would fit their crowd of crazy characters. The animation department's composer, Carl W. Stalling, borrowed liberally from Scott's catalogue to form the foundation of innumerable cartoons.

"Scott never acknowledged that his music had been used in the cartoons," says Chusid, who has served as director of the Raymond Scott Archives. "To the best of my knowledge, he didn't even know about it... or if he did, he didn't care. He never watched cartoons."

Chusid did watch cartoons, but wasn't aware of Scott's contribution until 1989, when a collector sent him a tape of old Raymond Scott 78s. Tunes such as "Toy Trumpet," "Powerhouse" and "Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals" instantly conjured up images of animated mayhem. That spurred Chusid to start researching the eccentric, eclectic composer.

Scott was born Harry Warnow, in Brooklyn, in 1908. He wanted to be an engineer, but his father, who owned a music store, and his brother Mark, a conductor, recognized his musical potential and convinced him to attend the Institute of Musical Art, which was later renamed Julliard.

After graduating in 1931, he was hired as a pianist for the CBS Radio Orchestra, which his brother conducted. Not wanting to hear charges of nepotism, he chose the name Raymond Scott from a phone book.

Later in the 30s, he shot to fame with his six-piece band, the Raymond Scott Quintette. The quirky Scott referred to it as a quintet, apparently because he didn't care for the sound of the word "sextet." The legendary trumpeter Bunny Berigan was an original member of the group. He quit, because Scott, a perfectionist, insisted on endless rehearsals.

The work paid off. The Quintette's recordings became hits and the band appeared in several Hollywood films.

Chusid believes that the Quintette material, from 1937 to 1940, constitutes Scott's most important work. "I feel very strongly that Scott influenced bebop. I hear overtones of Raymond in early Dizzy Gillespie."

Drawing on his classical training, Scott often inserted snippets from such composers as Mozart, Schubert and Bizet into his songs. Decades ahead of his time, he also explored world music. "I hear overtones of Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America," Chusid says. "You could play his music anywhere in the world and people would relate to it."

Scott's music earned enough money to buy him a mansion on Long Island. In the 40s, he led big bands, and when CBS named him its music director, he formed the first racially integrated network orchestra. The lineup included such greats as Coleman Hawkins and Cozy Cole. Also during that decade, Scott composed the music for the 1946 Broadway show "Lute Song," which starred Mary Martin and Yul Brynner.

From 1950 to 1957, he served as musical conductor for TV's "Your Hit Parade," writing the show's familiar opening and closing theme songs. His second wife, Dorothy Collins, his band's lead vocalist, was also featured on the series.

In the 60s, Scott was much in demand as a jingles writer. Then, in 1972, Berry Gordy, Jr. hired him to head Motown's electronic music division. Scott and his third wife, Mitzi, moved to Southern California.

Raymond Scott retired from the business in 1977 and subsequently devoted his time and money to developing electronic instruments with which had had been experimenting since the late 1940s. One such invention was dubbed "the Karloff," a bizarre machine that made noises resembling sizzling steaks, coughs and clattering kitchen implements. A keyboard instrument called the Clavivox offered strange imitations of the human voice. The Electronium was a composing machine utilizing knobs and switches, rather than a keyboard. His work was slowed, then halted, by a series of disabling strokes.

Scott was secretive about his electronics work, inviting only a few people, such as synthesizer developer Robert Moog, into his laboratory.

"Scott didn't have a great impact in this area," Chusid says, "because he was paranoid. He didn't exhibit the stuff, didn't market it, wasn't part of the academic community."

In his waning years, Scott's status as an outsider kept him from being fully appreciated as a composer. Chusid says of the neglect, "He wasn't embraced by the jazz community, because he didn't encourage improvisation. He wasn't respected by 'serious' musicians, because they felt that he trivialized classical music. As for his contributions to cartoons, for the most part, classic animation wasn't taken seriously until recent years."

Chusid resolved that Scott would again receive the attention he deserved. After meeting with resistance for a couple of years, he was able to implement the re-release of many important Scott works. Among the albums are "Three Willow Park: Electronic Music From Inner Space, 1961-1971," "Manhattan Research Inc.," "Microphone Music," "The Unexpected," "Ectoplasm," "Soothing Sounds for Baby," "This Time with Strings," and "The Raymond Scott Project, Volume 1: Powerhouse."

When he first visited Scott and wife Mitzi in 1991, Chusid was shocked at the way the composer's master recordings were being stored. Dust, insects and water were damaging them. Scott didn't like to write down arrangements, so he recorded everything. Chusid found 2,500 discs and 500 open-reel tapes. A mammoth restoration and preservation effort was launched.

Since the reissues and compilations have made Scott's marvelous music available again, interest in the composer/performer has picked up dramatically. His imaginative recordings, with their quacking trumpets, taunting clarinets and madcap percussion, have been used extensively in various media, by diverse artists.

Chusid has played a vital role in reviving interest in other previously lost artists, including 1950s Mexican band leader Juan Garcia Esquivel and 1970s folk-pop-jazz sister duo Wendy & Bonnie Flower, who recorded an album, "Genesis," which was ahead of its time. "I find things that American culture has thrown away... and I throw them back," Chusid quips.

He has also produced reissues by such artists as The Shaggs, Sun Ra and Lucia Pamela. He unearthed the wonderful 1970s recordings of Canadian schoolchildren, which were released on CD as "The Langley Schools Music Project."

Chusid says, however, it won't be easy to find another artist with as wide an appeal as Raymond Scott. "Usually there's a target market -- the young ones, the skinheads, the blue-haired geriatric set, the urban blacks.

"But Raymond's music cuts across every boundary. I know people into hip-hop who have sampled his songs. Rockers love Raymond, as do many jazz and classical enthusiasts. People of all ages, from all sorts of backgrounds, respond to Raymond."

For much more information on Scott, visit RaymondScott.net.