Linda Scott Biography

Linda Scott (born Linda Joy Sampson, 1 June 1945) was a pop singer active in the early to mid 1960s. Her biggest hit was the 1961 million-selling single, "I've Told Every Little Star". She went on to place twelve songs on the charts over the next four years, the last being "Who’s Been Sleeping In My Bed," which was one of the first collaborations between the legendary writing team of Hal David and Burt Bacharach.

Born in Queens, New York, Scott was still in high school when she auditioned for Arthur Godfrey's radio show on CBS in 1959. After having won a place on the show, Scott and other young performers became regular guests on the show. During the show's run the young singer came to the attention of Epic Records and Scott made her recording debut (singing as Linda Sampson) with the single "In-Between Teen".

Though still in high school, in 1961 she signed with Canadian-American Records, a record label that had struck gold with the Santo & Johnny single "Sleep Walk". The label changed her performing name to Linda Scott, producing and releasing the hit "I've Told Every Little Star," a standard written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern for their 1932 production Music In The Air.

Scott's three biggest hits came in that first year, with "I've Told Every Little Star," "I Don't Know Why," and "Don't Bet Money, Honey." The first two were standards, while the third was one of Scott's own compositions.

Scott was the showcase artist when Canadian-American started a subsidiary label, Congress Records, in 1962, and in fact both labels released new material of hers simultaneously. The following year, she hit the big screen, singing her hit "Yessirree" in the Chubby Checker vehicle, Don't Knock The Twist.

Scott's final U.S. chart appearance was "Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed," released in January 1964, the same month that The Beatles made their first chart appearance. In 1965 she became a cast member of the TV rock show Where the Action Is, which she co-hosted with singer Steve Alaimo.

Though she continued recording for Congress and Kapp Records in the mid 1960s, her singles were less and less commercially successful, although they demonstrated a more progressive, soulful feel than her earlier recordings, with Scott's voice growing more supple and mature.

Scott's last U.S. recording, "They Don't Know You", was released in 1967 on RCA records. She continued to record as a backing singer (most notably on Lou Christie's 1969 hit "I'm Gonna Make You Mine") and also released a handful of singles in the UK (on CBS and Bell) before finally quitting show business in the early 1970s to pursue studies in theology.

Scott was an army medical laboratory technician for two years, stationed in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and also received a degree in Theology from Kingsway Christian College and Theological Seminary in Des Moines, according to an interview she gave to Goldmine in 1987. She later taught music at the Christian Academy in New York. During her time in the army, she met and married a fellow serviceman. The marriage produced one child, in 1973, and ended in divorce. She later taught music at the Christian Academy in New York.

The CD collection The Complete Hits of Linda Scott was released by Eric Records in 1995, while her recording of “I’ve Told Every Little Star” was included in director David Lynch’s film Mulholland Drive.