Rena Scott

Rena Scott is an American soul and R&B artist, from Detroit, born in 1956^[1]

Rena Scott was recognized at a very early age for her singing ability in church. She performed her first talent show at age 13, and soon after, her first record "I Just Can't Forget That Boy", was released. She blossomed as a performer during that period as an opening act at local venues for many of the Motown acts like The Temptations, the Four Tops, and The Originals. The highlight of that period was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sing back-up for Aretha Franklin at the famed Carnegie Hall.

Her real claim to fame came in 1978 with the smash hit "Take Me I'm Yours", a duet with Michael Henderson. After touring with Henderson on the strength of their hit single in 1978, Michael's record company Buddha Records signed her to a record deal, she recorded her first full-length album, Come on Inside in 1979, with the album's only single released – "Super Lover" which peaked at #92 in July 1979, on the Billboard R&B Singles Charts. The album was produced by the powerhouse R&B team Mtume and Reggie Lucas, former jazz musicians who had scored pop hits for Stephanie Mills, Roberta Flack, Donnie Hathaway, Phyllis Hyman and Lou Rawls.^[2]

While Scott was busy over the years pursuing that goal, she wowed many thousands in other places-first nightclubs in Detroit and later Los Angeles, and then crowds of up to 50,000 people touring top R&B and Jazz festivals in the U.S. and Europe, such as the famous Montrose Jazz festival in Montrose, Switzerland. She toured with The Crusaders, sharing the stage with legends like George Benson and Natalie Cole. She came on board with founding Crusaders members Joe Sample, Wilton Felder and Stix Hooper after the departure of Randy Crawford, performing picture perfect renditions of their 1979 pop hit "Street Life".

After Buddah Records folded, she left Detroit for a short pit stop in Las Vegas, where she did shows at Caesar's Palace and the Landmark Hotel before settling in Los Angeles to seek new recording opportunities. Before hooking up with The Crusaders, she had started writing songs with veteran Producer and songwriter Skip Scarborough who wrote songs for (LTD, Anita Baker, Earth, Wind & Fire and many other artists). In 1987, Scott re-emerged on Sedona Records with Love Zone, whose first single "Do That To Me One More Time" hit the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart. The follow-up "I Could Use A Kiss" also received extensive airplay.

The career of Rena Scott continues to evolve with her new Single "Can't Wait" on her own record label, Amor Records. Songs from Rena's CD/DVD "Let Me Love You" were featured in a blockbuster movie called "Love and Action in Chicago" which was shown on the HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz and BET cable television networks. It starred Regina King, Courtney Vance, Kathleen Turner, and Ed Asner. She charted in three categories on the Billboard Charts with a song from the same set titled "Remember". It peaked at #9 in the Hot Pop Singles Sales; #5 in the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Single Sales; and #80 in the top 100 R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. She remained and held strong on the charts for 18 weeks. Another song from the set, "A Love Thang", reached #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Single Sales chart and #17 on the Hot Pop Single Sales.^[3]

Discography

• Come On Inside (1979)
• Love Zone (1997)
• Let Me Love You (2004)
• Take Me Away (2010)

References

• Rena Scott at Facebook
• Rena Scott discography at Discogs
• Rena Scott at Billboard