Ramblin’ Tommy Scott
, billed as America’s last medicine-show performer, was buried on Friday, Oct. 4, in his hometown of Toccoa, Ga.
The 96-year-old Scott died on Sept. 30 as a result of injuries he sustained in an automobile accident on Aug. 10. He was a singer, songwriter, ventriloquist, comic, actor and show business entrepreneur.
He began his career on local radio in Georgia in 1933. When a medicine-show wagon stopped in Toccoa in 1936, Scott jumped aboard. It was a show that had been launched in 1890 by
“Doc” M.F. Chamberlain. When Chamberlain retired, he turned the enterprise and its medicinal formulas over to Scott.
Using music and comedy, Scott sold the liniment Snake Oil, the tonic Vim Herb and the laxatives Herb-O-Lac and Man-O-Ree for decades.
Tommy Scott moved to North Carolina in 1938 to perform on WPTF radio in Raleigh. On WWVA in Wheeling, WV he was billed as“Rambling Scotty” when he fronted
Charlie Monroe’s band The Kentucky Pardners. He moved to WSM and its Grand Ole Opry in 1940.
Back in Georgia, Scott became a country TV pioneer with the production of
The Ramblin’ Tommy Scott Show in 1948. He later had the syndicated television series
Smokey Mountain Jamboree.
In 1949, Scott starred in the movie
Trail of the Hawk. Other films he appeared in include
Mountain Capers,
Hillbilly Harmony and
Southern Hayride.
Tommy Scott recorded for such labels as King, Rich-R-Tone, Macy and Four Star. In the 1940s, he founded his own Katona Records company.
During his career, he wrote more than 500 songs, including the bluegrass favorite “You Are the Rainbow of My Dreams.” His most successful song was “Rosebuds and You.” It became a regional success for him in 1950, and was also recorded by
George Morgan,
The Willis Brothers and
Red Sovine. Fiddler/singer
Benny Martin had a country hit with the song when he revived it in 1963.
In the 1970s, Scott began billing himself as “Doc” and reemphasizing his medicine-show roots. He marketed a TV album and was featured by such national broadcasters as
Walter Cronkite,
Charles Kuralt,
Ralph Emery,
Oprah Winfrey and
David Letterman. Scott made multiple appearances on
The Today Show and
Entertainment Tonight. He brought his show to Nashville’s Fan Fair celebration in 1977.
Over the years, “Doc Scott’s Last Real Old Time Medicine Show” featured such stars as
Stringbean,
Curley Seckler,
Carolina Cotton,
Johnny Mack Brown,
Ray Whitley and
Randall Franks. Franks directed a 2001 PBS special about Scott’s life titled
Still Ramblin.’ He also co-wrote Scott’s 2007 autobiography
Snake Oil, Superstars and Me.
Ramblin’ Tommy Scott is a member of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame. He was pre-deceased by his wife and co-star
Mary Frank “Frankie” Thomas Scott. He is survived by daughter Sandra Scott Whitworth, sister Cleo Scott Cheek, nephew Benny Cheek, granddaughter Pam Lawson and great-grandchildren Craig and Corey Lawson.
The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) has extended the deadline for entering songs until Nov. 4, 2013. ISC is open to amateur and professional songwriters; entries are accepted online through the ISC platform, Sonicbids, ReverbNation, Broadjam, or through mail.
The 2013 International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) World of Bluegrass, held Sept. 24-28, 2013 in Raleigh, N.C., generated an estimated $10 million in direct visitor spending for Raleigh and Wake County, according to the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (GRCVB).
