Scott Walker, an only child, was born Noel Scott Engel on the 9th of January 1943 in Hamilton, Ohio, USA. From a very early age Scott displayed considerable talent, delving into acting and singing. In 1957 he released a single called "When is a Boy a Man" under the name Scotty Engel.
At the age of 16 Scott moved with his mother to Hollywood where he joined the school orchestra. Scott taught himself to play the electric bass guitar, becoming one of the first players in Hollywood to do so. As a result, Scott worked on recording sessions with arranger Jack Nitzsche. In 1961, Scott joined the group The Routers as a bassist.
Moving on from The Routers, Scott formed a group called The Dalton Brothers. In 1964, this group evolved into the Walker Brothers, comprising Scott on lead vocals and bass guitar, John Maus on guitar and vocals, and Gary Leeds on drums. Gary Leeds had toured the UK with singer PJ Proby and it was he who suggested that they should go to England and make it bigger than the Beatles.
Leeds eventually convinced Scott and John, so The Walker Brothers moved to England arriving in London in 1965. Things didn't go too well initially. They weren't playing many gigs and had to rely on financial support. Their first release "Pretty Girls Everywhere"/"Doin the Jerk" (recorded in the US) slipped away quietly. With Nik Venet and Jack Nitsche producing they then recorded The Everly Brothers' song "Love Her". Three months after the release of this single in June 1965 "Love Her" entered the Top 20, lasting just one week.
1965 also saw the release of the singles "Make it Easy on Yourself" and "My Ship is Coming In". The production on these songs and others to follow made use of the style and sound made famous by Phil Spector. "Make it Easy on Yourself" entered the NME chart at No 25, eventually peaking at No 2. It displaced the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" from the top of the Melody Maker chart. It sold over 250,000 copies in the UK. The song reached No 16 on the US charts. The Walker Brothers had nine top 30 songs in the UK, two of which also made the charts in the US.
A string of top 10 hits followed, establishing The Walker Brothers as one of the most successful UK-based groups of the mid-60s. The Walker Brothers broke up in May 1967. Scott was uncomfortable with his sex symbol image and the attention that fame brought. Scott was angst-ridden during the days of the Walker Brothers, and was known for being moody and reclusive. Many have since described him as the classic pop existentialist, trapped in a system that has too often regarded him as a contradiction.
Each of the Walker Brothers branched out on their own. However, only Scott met with any success. Scott went on to record solo albums, most notably Scott, Scott 2, Scott 3 and Scott 4. Scott recorded English language versions of some of Jacques Brel's songs, songs which are today regarded by many as classics. Many contemporary artists cite Scott Walker as being a major influence.
The Walker Brothers briefly reunited in 1976 and in 1978 released their final top ten record "No Regrets" on the U.K. charts.
The advent of the compact disc has over the years seen the re-release of the albums made by Scott Walker and also The Walker Brothers. Many of the cd's have been remastered with bonus tracks.