Scott Simon Dies: 52-Year Sha Na Na Singer Who Co-Wrote Song For ‘Grease’ Was 75
deadline.com“Screamin’ Scott” Simon, who played piano in the early-rock revival group Sha Na Na for more than a half-century and co-wrote the song “Sandy” that John Travolta crooned in Grease, died today of sinus cancer in Ojai, CA.
He was 75. His daughter Nina Simon announced the news. The elder Simon joined Sha Na Na in 1970, the year after its founding as a 1950s/early-’60s rock ‘n’ roll and doo-wop revivalist act and its appearance at Woodstock.
He remained with the group, along with original members Donny York and Jocko Marcellino, until it disbanded in 2022. He played piano — banging out energetic covers of “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “At the Hop” and others — and was known for his signature shirt whose sleeves bore piano keys, which he often pretended to play.
The group basked in the ’50s and early-’60s nostalgia craze of the mid-’70s as America came to grips with Watergate and Vietnam.
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