Jack Scott - Geraldine

Jack Scott - his real surname was Scafone - was born on 24 January 1938 in Windsor, Ontario, in Canada. When he was in his teens he moved with his family to Detroit and began writing songs. At the age of 19 he showed sufficient flair as a songwriter to land a contract with a music publisher, which led to him signing with ABC Records as a performer. Although he cut a few singles none made much impression. At ABC, Scott met producer Joe Carlton, who left the company in 1958 and set up his own label, Carlton. Scott went with him.

He later recalled how he had recorded two of his songs, "Leroy" and "My True Love," at his own expense. "I took them to a distribution outlet I knew and they didn't really care for them, but there was someone else there at the time who heard them and encouraged me to let them have the tape. Next thing I knew I'd signed a contract, and 'Leroy' took off like lightning."

The two songs were released back-to-back on Carlton and the record became a double-sided smash, selling more than a million copies. "My True Love" hit Number 3 in Billboard's Hot Hundred and made the Top Ten in Britain. "With Your Love" made Number 28 in the US later that year, "Goodbye Baby" peaked at Number 8 early in 1959 and was followed by "The Way I Walk." a Top Forty hit that Robert Gordon revived in 1978.