Robert Scott; Versatile Musician Composed ‘He Ain’t Heavy’

Robert (Bobby) Scott, pianist, singer and composer probably best known for his scoring and incidental music for the Broadway play “A Taste of Honey” and for his songs, including “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” has died in New York.

Scott was a jazz prodigy who made his first album, toured with Gene Krupa and had a hit single, “Chain Gang,” before turning 20. He was 53 when he died in New York on Monday of lung cancer.

He was an arranger for such singers as Bobby Darin, Harry Belafonte, Sarah Vaughn and Fran Jeffries and produced records for stars like Aretha Franklin and Johnny Mathis.

A versatile musician who also played the vibraphone, Scott performed at East Coast jazz festivals and in New York nightclubs while teaching theory and harmony. In recent years he toured the world with Brazilian guitarist Carlos Barbosa-Lima.

His book, “Musicians on Music,” will be published by Oxford Press.