On the Cover – Ray Scott

10/5/2005 – October 2005

Label: Warner Bros.
Booking: William Morris Agency, Brad Bissell
Management: Norbert Nix, John Dorris
Producers: Buddy Cannon, Phillip Moore
Current Single: “My Kind Of Music”
Current Video: “My Kind Of Music”

Birth Date: December 5
Interests: Motorcycles
Interesting Facts: Earned an Associate’s degree from the Music Business Institute in Atlanta
Hits: “My Kind Of Music”
Musical Influences: Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson

There’s a different kind of cowboy on the scene these days. One who writes songs with the plainspoken poetry and emotional directness that harkens back to classics by Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson. But Ray Scott’s biggest musical influence is none of these, instead, it is his dad, Ray Sr. “He was a singer and I heard his interpretations of all those great country songs growing up. I realize more all the time that listening to his versions and comparing them to the originals I heard on the radio taught me a lot about how to make a song your own,” Scott recalls. Raised in the rural farming community of Semora, North Carolina, he grew up among the blue collar folks who populate his songs. Eventually, he made the move to Music City and his tunes caught the ears of noted producers Norro Wilson and Buddy Cannon. They cut a few of his tracks, hoping to score a record deal, and though a deal never materialized, the experience was golden. Scott landed a publishing deal with Tom Collins and the years of dedication began to pay off when Randy Travis (“Pray for the Fish”) and Clay Walker (“A Few Questions”) had hit singles with his songs. However, it was the hard-driving, attitude-drenched tune “Plowboy” that prompted Paul Worley at Warner Bros. to sign Scott to the label. The songs on his debut album, My Kind of Music, range from odes to the working man (“Dirty Shirt”) to morning-after regrets (“Bear With Me Lord”) to the personal manifestos found in the title track and in “Different Kind of Cowboy.” Scott’s debut album is a testament to the fact that he does things his own way and clearly his way is country.