Tom Scott and the L.A. Express

The L.A. Express

Thomas Wright Scott was born on May 19, 1948 in Los Angeles, the son of the film and television composer Nathan Scott, and formed the L.A. Express in 1973 as a band behind himself. Bassist Max Bennett said in a 2011 interview that the name came from Louis Shelton, and that the group began at a Sunday afternoon gig at the Lighthouse with Joe Sample, then played Tuesday nights at the Baked Potato; he called the music rock-ish, latin-ish, blues-ish jazz. The first line-up was Scott, Bennett, John Guerin on drums, Larry Carlton on guitar and Sample on keyboards. After Carlton went to the Crusaders, Robben Ford and Larry Nash took their places.

Tom Scott and the L.A. Express was recorded in August and September 1973 and released on Ode, Lou Adler's label, in 1974, produced by Scott with Hank Cicalo recording and mixing. Its "Sneakin' in the Back" has been sampled by Massive Attack, Madonna, Deee-Lite, 2Pac, Common, Wu-Tang Clan and Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa. The band also backed Joni Mitchell on Court and Spark (1974), the live Miles of Aisles (1974, recorded mostly at the Universal Amphitheatre August 14 to 17) and The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975), and in 1974 backed George Harrison on basic tracks that open Dark Horse.

Scott left after Tom Cat (1975), and the band continued as the L.A. Express on Caribou Records for two 1976 albums, L.A. Express and Shadow Play, recorded at James Guercio's Caribou Ranch. Scott's other work includes the Starsky and Hutch and Streets of San Francisco themes, membership of the Blues Brothers band, and 13 Grammy nominations with three wins. His "Today" is the main sample in Pete Rock and CL Smooth's "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)". Raven Records collected Tom Cat with the other Ode albums on Master of Funk (2013).