Music In Review - Scott Baio

By Justin Shay

Scott Baio, 1982

When I was a kid growing up in the early 80’s, I recall my first exposure to the world of teenybopper idol-dom. My cousin Sherri had lots of posters on the walls of her bedroom. Many bore the faces of young dudes who I didn’t really recognize at the time, although one face stood out as the guy who played Chachi on Happy Days. I would later see him in a movie called Zapped and then on the popular TV show Charles In Charge. I had come to find out that by that time he had already recorded two albums for the RCA label; one simply called Scott Baio released in 1982 and the other The Boys Are Out Tonight, released in 1983. I had no idea these albums even existed until recently when I was at my neighbor’s house and noticed they had a copy of Mr. Baio’s first album showcased on their mantle. The album cover shows him laying on his side, flashing a knowing glance to all the young girls who would prospectively spend their lunch money on an LP which contained songs for and possibly about them; imaginative, early synth-rock songs with titles such as Wanted For Love and How Do You Talk To Girls? After a bit of research, I noticed that the All Music Guide had very little to say about Scott’s musical endeavors. His biography very matter-of-factly states that “Scott Baio is a television actor. In 1982, he released an album that charted briefly”. There really isn’t much documentation on the web regarding his music other than a couple of fanatical fan sites which wax nostalgic on a brief period of time, a time when young girls swooned over Leif Garrett and teenage boys masturbated to pictures of Kristy McNichol.

While listening to the Scott Baio album I couldn’t help but think about young Scott somewhere in a big-time Hollywood studio pouring his heart out while being backed by a band of aging, bearded, post-adult contemporary session musicians.

While Scott’s voice may not always be right on and in tune with the music, he’s got this very pure teenage passion thing going on and this is worth much more than perfect pitch any day. While not the most mind-rocking thing I’ve ever heard, it still was a fun listen and I will definitely pick it up if I ever see it around for less than three dollars.