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Colin Escott

{{Short description|British music historian and author}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Colin Escott

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1949|08|31|df=y}}

| birth_place = Boughton Aluph, Kent, England

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = British

| alma mater = University of Kent

| other_names =

| known_for =

| 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.{{cite web|website=Rock's Backpages|title=Colin Escott Library|url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Writer/colin-escott|access-date=December 9, 2022}}

Described as "the foremost authority on Sun Records",{{cite web|website=Simon & Schuster|url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Colin-Escott/194043676|title=Colin Escott|access-date=December 11, 2022}} 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.{{AllMusic|id=mn0000776924}}

In 1999 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections,{{cite web|url=https://www.arsc-audio.org/awards/people.html|website=Association for Recorded Sound Collections|title=ARSC Awards for Lifetime Achievement & Distinguished Service to Historical Recordings|access-date=December 20, 2022}} and in 2011 he was recognized with the Charlie Lamb Award for Excellence in Country Music Journalism.{{cite web|title=Awards|url=https://www.internationalcountrymusic.org/awards|website=International Country Music Conference|access-date=December 21, 2022}}

Escott co-wrote the 2010 musical theater production Million Dollar Quartet, which received three Tony nominations,{{cite web|title=Who's Nominated?|url=http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees/index.html|work=Tony Awards|publisher=IBM Corp.|access-date=December 9, 2022}}Gans, Andrew.[http://www.playbill.com/news/article/136132-Foster-and-Stanley-Will-Join-Original-Chicago-Quartet-for-Broadways-Million-Dollar-Quartet "Foster and Stanley Will Join Original Chicago Quartet for Broadway's Million Dollar Quartet"] Playbill.com, January 21, 2010Fick, David. [http://musicalcyberspace.wordpress.com/2010/04/11/million-dollar-quartet-opens-tonight/ "Million Dollar Quartet Opens Tonight"]. Musical Cyberspace, April 11, 2010 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 broadcast in 2017.

In 2022 he was tapped as a writer for the "audio adventure" podcast series Tennessee Music Pathways.{{cite web|title=Tennessee Tourism Teams Up with Armchair Productions for "Tennessee Music Pathways" Podcast|date=August 22, 2022|website=Nashville Music City|url=https://www.visitmusiccity.com/media/press-release/2022/tennessee-tourism-teams-armchair-productions-tennessee-music-pathways#|access-date=December 20, 2022}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.wnypapers.com/news/article/current/2022/06/10/151259/sun-records-at-70-celebrates-elvis|title=Sun Records at 70 celebrates 'ELVIS'|date=June 10, 2022|access-date=December 22, 2022|website=Niagara Frontier Publications}}

Middle Tennessee State University's Center for Popular Music houses the Colin Escott Collection of historical documents and photographs acquired in 2019.{{cite web |date=2019 |title=The Colin Escott Collection - Biographical Sketch |url=https://popmusic.mtsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/53/2024/08/ColinEscottCollection.pdf |access-date=December 20, 2022 |website=MTSU.edu}}

Books

=Author=

  • {{cite book|author=Colin Escott|title=Hank Williams: The Biography|date=1994|location=Boston|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|isbn=978-0316249867}}Won 1994 Ralph J. Gleason Book Award third prize.
  • {{cite book|author=Colin Escott|title=Tattooed on Their Tongues: A Journey Through the Backrooms of American Music|date=1998|author-mask=6|location=New York|publisher=Schirmer Books|isbn=978-0028650333}}Nominated for 1997 Ralph J. Gleason Award.
  • {{cite book|author=Colin Escott|title=Roadkill on the Three-Chord Highway: Art and Trash in American Popular Music|date=2002|author-mask=6|location=London|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415937825}}
  • {{cite book|author=Colin Escott|title=Lost Highway: The True Story of Country Music|date=2003|author-mask=6|location=Washington|publisher=Smithsonian Press|isbn=978-1588341495}}
  • {{cite book|author=Colin Escott|title=The Grand Ole Opry: The Making of an American Icon|date=2006|author-mask=6|location=Nashville|publisher=Center Street|isbn=978-1931722865}}

=Co-author=

  • {{cite book|author1=Colin Escott|author2=Martin Hawkins|title=Catalyst: The Sun Records Story|date=1975|location= |publisher=Argus Books|isbn=978-0904619003}}
  • {{cite book|author1=Colin Escott|author2=Martin Hawkins|title=Elvis Presley: An Illustrated Discography|author-mask1=3|author-mask2=3|date=1981|location=Sydney|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-0825639555}}
  • {{cite book|author1=Colin Escott|author2=Martin Hawkins|title=Sun Records: The Discography|author-mask1=3|author-mask2=3|date=1987|location= |publisher=Bear Family|isbn= 978-3924787097}}
  • {{cite book|author1=Colin Escott|author2=Martin Hawkins|title=Sun Records: The Brief History of the Legendary Recording Label|date=1980|author-mask1=3|author-mask2=3|location= |publisher=Quick Fox|isbn=978-0825631610}}
  • {{cite book|author1=Colin Escott|author2=Martin Hawkins|title=Good Rockin' Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'N' Roll|date=1992|author-mask1=3|author-mask2=3|location=New York|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0312054397}}
  • {{cite book|author1=Ian Tyson|author2=Colin Escott|title=I Never Sold My Saddle|date=1994|location=Layton, Utah|publisher=Gibbs Smith|isbn=978-0879056131}}
  • {{cite book|author1=Colin Escott|author2=George Merritt|title=The Legend of Hank Williams (audiobook)|date=1996|location=New York|publisher=PolyGram}}
  • {{cite book|author1=Colin Escott|author2=Kira Florita|title=Hank Williams: Snapshots from the Lost Highway|date=2001|location=New York|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0306810527}}
  • {{cite book|author1=Colin Escott|author2=George Merritt|author3=William MacEwen|title=I Saw the Light: The Story of Hank Williams|date=2015|location=Boston|publisher=Back Bay Books|isbn=978-0316315050}}
  • {{cite book|author1=Peter Guralnick|author2=Colin Escott|title=The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll: The Illustrated Story of Sun Records and the 70 Recordings That Changed the World|date=2022|location=Stockholm|publisher=Weldon Owen|isbn=978-1681888965}}

=Editor=

  • {{cite book|editor=Colin Escott|title=All Roots Lead to Rock: Legends of Early Rock 'n' Roll|date=1999|author-mask=0|location=New York|publisher=Schirmer Books|isbn=978-0028648668}}

Other works

=Theater=

  • Co-writer, Million Dollar Quartet (2010)
  • Writer, Million Dollar Quartet Christmas (2020){{cite web|website=Million Dollar Quartet Christmas|url=https://www.mdqchristmas.com/|access-date=December 14, 2022|title=Creative Team}}

=Film=

  • Screenwriter, Let Freedom Sing: Music That Inspired the Civil Rights Movement (2009)
  • Writer, Only New Orleans (2015)

=Television=

  • Consultant, Lost Highway: The Story of Country Music (BBC, 2003)
  • Executive producer, Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues (PBS, American Masters, 2004){{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/hank-williams-about-hank-williams/734/|title = Hank Williams ~ About Hank Williams | American Masters|website = PBS|date = 10 August 2005|access-date=December 23, 2022}}
  • Writer, producer, Sun Records (CMT, 2017){{cite web|last=Petski |first=Denise |url=https://deadline.com/2016/03/chad-michael-murray-star-million-dollar-quartet-jennifer-holland-margaret-anne-florence-cast-1201720147/ |title=Chad Michael Murray To Star in CMT's 'Million Dollar Quartet' |publisher=Deadline |date=2016-03-14 |accessdate=2017-02-22}}
  • Consultant, Country Music (PBS, 2019)

=Articles and essays=

Selected works from books and major music industry publications:

  • "Memphis Blues: Sun Rise". Record Mirror. November 13, 1971
  • "Carl Perkins: 'Blue Suede Shoes'". The History of Rock, 1981
  • "Bill Justis: Raunchy by Choice". Goldmine. June 15, 1990
  • "Bill Haley: Indisputably the First". Goldmine. April 19, 1991
  • "Hi Records: That Memphis Beat". Record Hunter. July 1991
  • "B.B. King: The Fortunate Son". Goldmine. April 29, 1994
  • "Tim Hardin: Poet of the Interior". Goldmine. June 24, 1994
  • "Ian and Sylvia: Northern Journey". Goldmine. July 8, 1994
  • "The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson)", "Floyd Cramer", "Johnny Horton", "Billy Walker". The Encyclopedia of Country Music. 1997
  • "Come On, Let's Go!: Elvis on the Hayride". Mojo. December 2004
  • {{cite book|author=Colin Escott|author-mask=0|chapter=B. B. King: A Golden Anniversary|title=The B. B. King Reader|publisher= Hal Leonard Corporation|year=2005|pages=9–14}}

=Selected production credits=

Producer credits on major LP and CD releases:

=Selected liner notes=

Awards

=Grammy Awards=

class="wikitable"

! width="5%"| Year

! width="30%"| Category

! width="50%"| Nominated work

! width="15%"| Result

1992

|Best Album Notes

| Hank Williams: The Original Singles Collection ... Plus

|{{Nom}}

1994

|Best Album Notes

|B.B. King: King of the Blues

|{{Nom}}

rowspan="2" |1999

|Best Historical Album

|rowspan="2"|The Complete Hank Williams

|{{Won}}

Best Album Notes

|{{Nom}}

2011

|Best Historical Album

|Hank Williams: The Complete Mother's Best Recordings...Plus!

|{{Nom}}

2015

|Best Historical Album

|Hank Williams: The Garden Spot Programs, 1950

|{{Won}}

=Tony Awards=

class="wikitable"

! width="5%"| Year

! width="30%"| Category

! width="50%"| Nominated work

! width="15%"| Result

rowspan="2"|2010

|Best Musical

| rowspan="2"|Million Dollar Quartet

|{{Nom}}

Best Book of a Musical

|{{Nom}}

=[[Drama Desk Awards]]=

class="wikitable"

! width="5%"| Year

! width="30%"| Category

! width="50%"| Nominated work

! width="15%"| Result

2010

|Outstanding Revue

Million Dollar Quartet

|{{Nom}}

=[[Living Blues]] Awards=

class="wikitable"

! width="5%"| Year

! width="30%"| Category{{cite web|title=2003 Living Blues Awards|url=https://livingblues.com/2003-living-blues-awards/|website=Living Blues|access-date=December 22, 2022}}

! width="50%"| Nominated work

! width="15%"| Result

rowspan="2"|2003

| Best Blues Album - Historical/Reissue

| When the Sun Goes Down - The Secret History of Rock & Roll

|{{Won}}

Best Blues Album - Liner Notes

| B.B. King: The Vintage Years

|{{Won}}

=[[International Bluegrass Music Association]]=

class="wikitable"

! width="5%"| Year

! width="30%"| Category{{cite web|website=International Bluegrass Music Association|url=https://ibma.org/award-recipients/colin-escott/|title=Award Recipient - Colin Escott|access-date=December 22, 2022}}

! width="50%"| Nominated work

! width="15%"| Result

2007

|Liner Notes of the Year

| Ralph Stanley: A Mother's Prayer

|{{Won}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/escott-colin-1949|title=Escott, Colin|website=Encyclopedia.com|access-date=December 9, 2022}} He has lived in Nashville and Toronto.

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • {{allMusic|id=mn0000776924}}
  • {{Discogs artist}}
  • {{IMDb name|id=nm1660892}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Escott, Colin}}

Category:1949 births

Category:Living people

Category:British music journalists

Category:British musicologists

Category:British biographers

Category:Grammy Award winners

Category:Alumni of the University of Kent

Category:Rock music historians

Category:Country music historians