Pennsylvania-born Jerry Scott’s career spanned over four decades. He possessed an astounding repertoire that exceeded 2,000 to 2,500 songs over genres including show tunes, standards, pop operetta and ragtime. His style was free-wheeling, his banter spirited. His gigs were at now classic spots: The Regency Hotel, Tatou, Nino’s Tuscany and Danny’s Skylight Room, among many others. Scott earned 12 
MAC Awards, a Bistro Award, a Critic’s Choice Award, and multiple Entertainer of the Year honors. Jerry Scott passed away from cancer on April 4, 2013, at age 67. Here’s how he’s remembered:
***When I think about my happiest times in piano bars, (and oh Lordy there were so many) images of Jerry Scott always come to mind. His smile lit the room. He welcomed us all whether to enjoy his immeasurable talent or to join him at the piano. There were no strangers when Jerry was on. To all of us who were fortunate to call him friend I know you treasure his memory as I do. Thank you Scott for keeping his memory alive.
Dorothy Deringer
***I was lucky to have been a part of the piano bar and cabaret scenes back in the 80s. Back then, I met and worked with many fabulous pianists, and Jerry Scott was a shining star in the piano bar universe! Not only did he have a vast knowledge of music, but he was able to work a room, as they say, like few others! He was a consummate showman! I knew Jerry mostly from The East Five Three – a classy, mirrored restaurant and piano bar on East 53rd Street, 
Waverly Waverly in the West Village and Judy*s Piano Bar when it was located on West 44th St.
My first time at East Five Three, I met Jerry Scott in passing – just a quick introduction. But every time I went there after that, Jerry always remembered me, flashed that enormous smile of his, gave me a huge warm “hello,” and would ask if I wanted to sing anything with him! Clearly, his memory for regular customers was as sharp as his musical knowledge! But that was Jerry; he welcomed everyone like an old friend!
Judy*s was where I truly got to know him and consider him a close friend! He ruled that room with his bright voice, his exuberant laugh and his fun, bouncy showtunes! One of my favorite memories of Jerry was one Halloween night at the club. On Halloweens, nearly the entire male staff would dress in drag and the costumes were hilarious! I walked in and saw Jerry at the piano, dressed as Scarlet O’Hara in Gone With the Wind! Wearing a ringlet wig, a huge hoop skirt and an enormous, flouncy, wide brimmed hat, he was belting out Kander & Ebb’s “Ring Them Bells”. Every time the chorus hit, he’d begin bouncing up and down on the piano bench, with that gigantic hat flopping up and down on his head in time with the music! 
It was quite a sight!! With his friendliness, his often clownish humor and his innate ability to entertain, Jerry knew how to make every customer feel like a guest at a most fabulous party!
Michael Barbieri
***I first met magical Jerry Scott way back in 1980 in my hometown of Houston. He had been hired to play a year-long engagement and a nightclub there called Jiggers. Well, we bonded immediately and he was my first friend who lived in the big city of New York. I was in his thrall! When I made my very first trip to New York in August of 1981 he made sure I went to the Five Oaks, the East 53, and The Regent East where I met Buddy Barnes, Frank Underwood, Richard Rodney Bennett and the singular Marie Blake. All my earliest memories of New York are wrapped in my memories of dear Jerry, as well as his best friends Alan and Susan Armour who really took me under their wing. Talk about another time. Almost all of those people are gone but boy was I lucky to know them. Jerry Scott was a dear friend, a born entertainer and full of positivity and funny as hell. Thanks for asking me to share my memories. It’s so lovely to think about those days.
Billy Stritch
***Jerry Scott was one of the most extraordinary musicians I have ever had the privilege of knowing. We became instant friends in 1993, and from that day forward we shared an incredible musical journey together—creating arrangements and performing cabaret shows throughout New York City and Fire Island. Jerry’s talent was undeniable, but it was his kindness, generosity, and spirit that truly made him unforgettable. His friendship was one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received, and it’s a gift I will carry in my heart for the rest of my life.
Jerry inspired not only me, but everyone fortunate enough to know him. His music, laughter, encouragement, and love for the art touched countless lives. I will forever be grateful for the memories we created together and for the profound impact he had on my life. Thank you, Jerry, for your friendship, your music, and your beautiful soul. You will be deeply missed, but your legacy will live on in every note, every performance, and in the hearts of all who loved you.
Michael Beau
***I met Jerry Scott so many years ago and to this day I think of him often. He played at my 50th birthday party at the old 9th Circle. When he was at Waverley Waverly, I took my mother there for my birthday brunch and Jerry sang two songs with the 
name, Sally in it. Jerry and Gavin often came to my house for drinks with other friends. He would always ask me if I wanted to sing and I always answered. Do you know any Helen Keller songs. He played almost every bartenders ball at the Copa until the last one. Jerry’s talent was counted by the friends and the ones that admired him for his life. I know he’s up there with Saint Peter being asked to please Ring Them Bells
Tree
***There was a magical era in Manhattan when the city’s night owls gathered around gleaming grand pianos, and the line between amateur and icon vanished. On any given evening, shower vocalists, Broadway royalty, and Hollywood legends shared the microphone in intimate cabaret rooms and bustling piano bars. At the center of it all was Jerry Scott—the legendary Manhattan singer and pianist whose sheer versatility commanded the room. Whether weaving through Broadway standards, pop classics, soaring operetta, or syncopated ragtime, Jerry held an astonishing repertoire of over 2,000 songs in his fingertips. From hotel lounges to hidden neighborhood bistros, if a venue had 
a keyboard and a crowd, Jerry Scott graced its stage. Whether leading a roaring sing-along at 1:00 AM or backing a nervous beginner through their very first standard, Jerry treated every moment at the piano with the same level of care and reverence.
For over 40 years, Jerry lived by a single mission: to ensure that everyone ended their night at the piano bar happier than when they walked in. Nowhere was this more evident than during his four-year run at The Waverly, the legendary piano bar where the party “raged with reckless and wild abandon” late into every night. Together with Johnny Savoy, Johnny DeMaio, and Johnny Pool, Jerry created a safe space for the straight and gay communities alike. It was a proving ground where budding performers could gather and hone their craft, regardless of their experience in the business. Both rising entertainers and loyal regulars were deeply devoted to the club and to Jerry personally, building a crowd that was wonderfully diverse, accepting, and completely at ease in their own skin.
Long after the final chord faded and the house lights came up, the warmth of those evenings stayed with the people who were lucky enough to be there. Jerry Scott didn’t just play the soundtrack of Manhattan nightlife—for generations of theater lovers, regulars, and wanderers, he was its very heart and soul.
Andy Praskai
