Colin Escott Explained

Colin Escott
Birth Date:31 August 1949
Birth Place:Boughton Aluph, Kent, England
Nationality:British
Alma Mater:University of Kent
Occupation:Music historian, author

Colin Escott (born 31 August 1949) is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner notes for more than 500 albums and compilations, and major contributions to stage and television productions. Honors include multiple Grammy Awards and a Tony Award nomination.

Career

His early career involved stints in operations for Island Records and Polygram Records in the 1970s, followed by work for Universal, Sony/Columbia, Warner Bros.-Rhino, Time Life, Capitol-EMI, RCA, and many independent companies, including Bear Family, Sundazed, and Omnivore.He also wrote music history pieces for various music industry publications including Record Mirror, Goldmine, and Record Hunter.[1]

Described as "the foremost authority on Sun Records",[2] in 1992 he and Martin Hawkins published Good Rockin’ Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the first in-depth account of the label's history. His 1994 book Hank Williams: The Biography was adapted into the 2015 movie I Saw the Light. The multi-CD box set, The Complete Hank Williams, won a 1998 Grammy, and another of his productions, Hank Williams: The Garden Spot Programs, 1950, won a 2014 Grammy.

In 1999 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections,[3] and in 2011 he was recognized with the Charlie Lamb Award for Excellence in Country Music Journalism.[4]

Escott co-wrote the 2010 musical theater production Million Dollar Quartet, which received three Tony nominations,[5] [6] [7] and in 2020 wrote a sequel, Million Dollar Quartet Christmas. He was also part of the writing/producing team adapting the original show for CMT/Viacom for broadcast in 2017.

In 2022 he was tapped as a writer for the "audio adventure" podcast series Tennessee Music Pathways.[8] That same year, he and co-writer Peter Guralnick released "an epic hardcover book", The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll: The Illustrated Story of Sun Records and the 70 Recordings That Changed the World, in conjunction with the film Elvis.[9]

Middle Tennessee State University's Center for Popular Music houses the Colin Escott Collection of historical documents and photographs acquired in 2019.[10]

Books

Author

Co-author

Other works

Theater

Film

Television

Articles and essays

Selected works from books and major music industry publications:[1]

Selected production credits

Producer credits on major LP and CD releases:

The Greatest Duets (Time/Life, 2009)

(Time/Life, 2012)

Heartaches and Hangovers (Time/Life, 2012)

Songs Our Daddy Taught Us (Bear Family, 2013 reissue)

The Knox Phillips Sessions (Ace, Time/Life, 2014)

The Complete Boss of the Blues (Bear Family, 2020)

Selected liner notes

Tiptoe Through the Tulips: Resurrection (Bear Family, 1988)

My Greatest Songs (RCA, 1992)

Sunday Concert (Bear Family reissue, 1993)

My Greatest Songs (Universal, 2003)

Let's Stay Together (Hi Records, 2003 reissue)

The Bootleg Series Volume 9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964 (Columbia Records, 2010)

Awards

Grammy Awards

YearCategoryNominated workResult
1992Best Album NotesHank Williams: The Original Singles Collection ... Plus
1994Best Album NotesB.B. King: King of the Blues
1999Best Historical AlbumThe Complete Hank Williams
Best Album Notes
2011Best Historical AlbumHank Williams: The Complete Mother's Best Recordings...Plus!
2015Best Historical AlbumHank Williams: The Garden Spot Programs, 1950

Tony Awards

YearCategoryNominated workResult
2010Best MusicalMillion Dollar Quartet
Best Book of a Musical

Living Blues Awards

YearCategory[16] Nominated workResult
2003Best Blues Album - Historical/ReissueWhen the Sun Goes Down - The Secret History of Rock & Roll
Best Blues Album - Liner NotesB.B. King

The Vintage Years

International Bluegrass Music Association

Personal life

Escott was born in Boughton Aluph, Kent, England, on 31 August 1949, the son of Lenny, an optician, and Betty Escott. He graduated in 1971 from the University of Kent with a B.A. degree.[18] He has lived in Nashville and Toronto.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rock's Backpages. Colin Escott Library. December 9, 2022.
  2. Web site: Simon & Schuster. Colin Escott. December 11, 2022.
  3. Web site: ARSC Awards for Lifetime Achievement & Distinguished Service to Historical Recordings. Association for Recorded Sound Collections. December 20, 2022.
  4. Web site: Awards. International Country Music Conference. December 21, 2022.
  5. Web site: Who's Nominated?. Tony Awards. IBM Corp.. December 9, 2022.
  6. Gans, Andrew."Foster and Stanley Will Join Original Chicago Quartet for Broadway's Million Dollar Quartet" Playbill.com, January 21, 2010
  7. Fick, David. "Million Dollar Quartet Opens Tonight". Musical Cyberspace, April 11, 2010
  8. Web site: Tennessee Tourism Teams Up with Armchair Productions for "Tennessee Music Pathways" Podcast. August 22, 2022. Nashville Music City. December 20, 2022.
  9. Web site: Sun Records at 70 celebrates 'ELVIS'. June 10, 2022. December 22, 2022. Niagara Frontier Publications.
  10. Web site: The Colin Escott Collection - Biographical Sketch. 2019. Mtsu.edu. December 20, 2022.
  11. Won 1994 Ralph J. Gleason Book Award third prize.
  12. Nominated for 1997 Ralph J. Gleason Award.
  13. Web site: Million Dollar Quartet Christmas. Creative Team. December 14, 2022.
  14. Web site: Hank Williams ~ About Hank Williams | American Masters | PBS. PBS. 10 August 2005. December 23, 2022.
  15. Web site: Petski . Denise . Chad Michael Murray To Star in CMT’s ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ . Deadline . 2016-03-14 . 2017-02-22.
  16. Web site: 2003 Living Blues Awards. Living Blues. December 22, 2022.
  17. Web site: International Bluegrass Music Association. Award Recipient - Colin Escott. December 22, 2022.
  18. Web site: Escott, Colin. Encyclopedia.com. December 9, 2022.

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