Screamin’ Scott Simon, who spent 52 years as the pianist of the energetic rock ’n’ roll and doo-wop group Sha Na Na, died Thursday in Ojai after a long battle with sinus cancer, his daughter Nina Simon announced. He was 75.
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A member of Sha Na Na from 1970 until they quit touring in 2022, Simon sometimes played the piano with his feet as he belted out such hits as Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and Danny & the Juniors’ “At the Hop.”
Simon and Sha Na Na performed in the 1978 film adaptation of Grease as “Johnny Casino and the Gamblers,” playing six doo-wop numbers in the high school dance scenes.
Meanwhile, Simon partnered with Louis St. Louis to write “Sandy,” sung by John Travolta. The film’s soundtrack went on to become one of the top albums of all time, with sales of more than 30 million copies.
With the 1977 premiere of The Sha Na Na Show , Simon moved to Los Angeles and appeared on all 97 episodes of the 30-minute syndicated variety program over four seasons. The band welcomed such guest stars as Chuck Berry , Bo Diddley, James Brown and the Ramones.
And on tour, Sha Na Na performed with acts including John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Steve Martin, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel.
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Born on Dec. 9, 1948, in Kansas City, Missouri, Simon was a multisport athlete and active in United Synagogue Youth, a national community of Conservative Jewish teenagers. He played in jug bands, founded a jazz quartet, tried his hand at composing and did song parodies, like turning Van Morrison’s “Gloria” into “Toriah.”
He moved to New York City to attend Columbia University — where a classmate nicknamed him “Screamin’ Scott” — in 1966 and fronted a blues band called The Royal Pythons.
In 1970, he answered an ad in the Columbia newspaper about an opening for a piano player and guitarist in a campus doo-wop group. Sha Na Na had immediately preceded Jimi Hendrix onstage at Woodstock in 1969 yet was still relatively unknown. After Simon graduated, he came aboard as its keyboardist and eventual managing partner.
While Sha Na Na primarily played classic ’50s and ’60s songs, Simon composed multiple songs and solo albums performed by the band and by himself on records and on TV.
In addition to his daughter, survivors include his wife, Deborah; another daughter, Morgan; stepson Nick; and granddaughters Rocket and Naomi.
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