Roger Hamilton Spotts

Roger Hamilton Spotts was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 20, 1928. Spotts dreamed of playing the saxophone in California. In Los Angeles, Spotts became a prolific jazz saxophonist, pianist, arranger, and composer with a career spanning five decades. He collaborated with musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton. From 1951 to 1953, Spotts served in the United States Army. In 1951, he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Music from Central State University and was an instructor at the Fairfield High School in Alabama in 1953. In 1959, Spotts married Betty Mosley, a professional pianist, singer, songwriter, dancer, and model. In 1964, their only child Woni Spotts was born. Spotts was a member of the American Society of Composers and a recipient of The American National Endowment for Arts, in 1976. Spotts served on the Board of Directors at the Musicians Credit Union #47, Los Angeles, since 1984, Musicians Union #47, 1970. Spotts acted as music director for Zola Taylor's Platters and performed live with Roger Hamilton Spotts Big Band. In addition to his work as a composer, Spotts worked with dance productions, including projects with Chester A. Whitmore, a tap dancer, artistic director, and choreographer. During the '70s and '80s, Spotts was an instructor at Grant's Music Center in Los Angeles. In the 1980s, he was on the board of directors for the Friends of Watts Towers Art Center in Los Angeles. Though a jazz loyalist, Spotts experimented with electronic instruments, throbbing electric basses, mini moogs, and wah-wah pedals. Spotts' friendship with Papa John Creach led him to collaborate with psychedelic rock bands. Spotts worked with Grace Slick and on Flight Log with Jefferson Airplane, Crosby and Stills. He composed classical music with a mentor and friend, Lyn Murray, a fellow screenwriter, and composer. Spotts and Lyn Murray collaborated on "Bob Hope - America is 200 Years Old...And There's Still Hope!"