In Memoriam: Scott Edwards

Scott Edwards

We’re sad to share reports that ace session bassist Scott Edwards has passed away.

Edwards was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia where he graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1966. His musical studies began on trombone when he was six years old. He eventually switched to bass guitar in 1967, practicing for two years before he started gigging. In 1970, he landed his first big gig.

“In 1970 Stevie Wonder happened to be coming down South to do a tour. In those days they would bring their own rhythm section and then hire the horns in the local area,” he told Carl Wiser of SongFacts.com. “[Michael Henderson] had just quit Stevie to join Miles Davis. So as a consequence Stevie came down South for the tour with no bass player. He was flying in different bass players from all over the country, and I guess they weren’t working out. So my cousins and brother told Stevie’s director, who was a person named Gene Kee, that their brother/cousin played bass. So they sent me a ticket and told me to meet them in Birmingham, Alabama, for the next performance. I flew and got there on time, but Stevie and his entourage were going by bus, and they were late. They got to Birmingham just in time to go on stage, so with no rehearsal, we all got on stage and played. Once the show was over they told me if I wanted the gig it was mine. That was it. So I stayed with Steve for 3 years, from 1970 to 1973.”

Edwards is featured on three albums – Innervisions, Original Musiquarium, and Talking Book – and the songs “You Are The Sunshine of My Life” and “All Is Fair In Love”. After working with Wonder, he moved to Los Angeles where he became a staple of the recording scene. He laid down the low end for a wide variety of hits. He was a bedrock of disco on songs like Gloria
Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls” as well as “Hot Stuff”. He played on “Rhinestone Cowboy” by Glen Campbell and “Love Machine” by The Miracles. He also anchored the mega hits “Sara Smile”, “Rich Girl”, and “She’s Gone” by Hall & Oates. That only scratches the surface of his discography.

Being in Los Angeles also put Edwards in the heart of the TV and movie industry. His bass lines are on the shows The A-Team, Ally McBeal, Bad Teacher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, C.S.I., Coyote Ugly, Doogie Howser, Futurama, Hill Street Blues, Magnum P.I., and more.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Scott Edwards.

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