Song:Lowdown
Album:Hits!
William Royce "Boz" Scaggs has been around since the 60s. But he had his biggest success with the 1976 album Silk Degrees and the smash hit Lowdown. Today he's more of a jazz artist. He was born June 8, 1944 in Canton, OH. His father was a traveling salesman so the family moved a lot. But they settled in Plano, TX near Dallas. Boz is a childhood nickname that stuck. Scaggs met Steve Miller in school and they played together in bands while attending the University Of Wisconsin in Madison. Scaggs moved to Europe for a couple of years and recorded an album in Sweden in 1965. He moved to San Francisco to join The Steve Miller Band in 1967. Scaggs appeared on the albums Children of the Future and Sailor. Then he left to go solo and signed with Atlantic Records. Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine produced his 1969 debut album. It was recorded at Muscle Shoals with guys like Barry Beckett and Duane Allman. It was critically acclaimed but it didn't sell. So Scaggs left Atlantic for Columbia. His first few albums for Columbia didn't sell either. But then Silk Degrees became a huge hit. He recorded Silk Degrees with Los Angeles session musicians David Paich, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Porcaro and David Hungate who would become Toto. Lowdown became a hit when a Cleveland DJ started playing it off the album. Columbia released it as a single and it reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Silk Degrees was certified 5XPlatinum. Scaggs had some other hits like Lido Shuffle, Look What You've Done To Me and Miss Sun. But by 1980, Scaggs was burnt out and quit recording. Columbia first released Hits! in 1980. In 2006, they rereleased it with a new cover and five extra tracks. It's available as a budget CD. Scaggs opened the San Francisco club Slim's in 1988. After the 1988 album Other Roads, Scaggs left Columbia and toured with Donald Fagen's Rock and Soul Revue. He recorded for Virgin in the 90s and more recently for Decca. He's more of a jazz artist now. His latest CD Memphis was released last month on 429 Records. It is a tribute to legendary producer Willie Mitchell. He was on last year's Dukes Of September tour with Donald Fagen and Michael McDonald and he is currently touring to support his new CD. Here's Boz Scaggs performing Lowdown on Saturday Night Live 1976.
Boz Scaggs - Lowdown (Live on SNL - 1976) by uselesslandline
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