Songwriter Skip Scarborough
Skip Scarborough remains one of those writers whose voice you’ve heard countless times, even if his name isn’t always top of mind. Born Clarence Alexander “Skip” Scarborough on November 26, 1944, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he eventually made his home in Los Angeles — where he would build a career as a quiet architect of soul, R&B, and romantic balladry.
Scarborough studied music at Los Angeles City College, CalArts, and UCLA, grounding himself in the technical side of composition and arrangement before stepping fully into songwriting. Los Angeles Times Over the years, he crafted songs that would resonate deeply — not flashy chart-busters driven solely by production, but emotionally rich pieces whose strength lay in their melody and depth.
He often held the role of behind-the-scenes creator: songwriter, arranger, producer, keyboardist. That multiplicity of talents meant he could conceive an idea, flesh out its harmonic scaffolding, and help bring it all to life in the studio. This skill set allowed him not just to write for others, but to shape how those songs sounded, the way notes and silences would converse.
Some of Scarborough’s most enduring credits read like a “who’s who” of soul. He penned “Can’t Hide Love” (famously recorded by Earth, Wind & Fire), “Love Ballad” (L.T.D.), “Ffun” (Con Funk Shun), “Giving You the Best That I Got” (Anita Baker), “Don’t Ask My Neighbors” (The Emotions), and “Love’s Holiday” (also Earth, Wind & Fire). Each song demonstrates a mastery of romantic nuance, subtlety, and melodic strength.
His was not a career of flash and spectacle, but one of consistency and musical integrity. In interviews and tributes, musicians regard him as someone whose work spoke in sureness even when it was understated. He may not always have been front and center, but his fingerprints rest all over the sonic landscape of ‘70s and ‘80s soul.
One of his landmark achievements was co-writing “Giving You the Best That I Got”, a song that won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1988. That level of recognition reinforced a truth many in the business already knew: behind so many beloved voices lies the craft of storytellers like Scarborough.
He also worked with a wide breadth of artists, building relationships across the spectrum of soul and R&B. From Patti LaBelle to Bill Withers, Phyllis Hyman to Mother’s Finest, his catalog stretches across styles, voices, and moods. That versatility signaled a writer sensitive to context — capable not just of penning a love song but of helping an artist find their own voice within it.
Scarborough’s songs often dwell in the territory of emotional confession: love, tenderness, longing, connection. He had a way of setting up a lyric so that even in its simplicity, it felt deeply personal — the kind of line you might read and feel like it was plucked from your own life. That sincerity, tempered with musical sophistication, is what gives his catalog its staying power.
Yet, the passage of time has sometimes obscured his name. As newer generations listen to these songs, the focus naturally falls on the singers — but the structures, harmonic turns, melodic decisions often trace back to Scarborough’s pen. His kind of songwriting is subtle architecture: the framework that supports what listeners feel.
Scarborough passed away on July 3, 2003, in Los Angeles, leaving behind a body of work that continues to influence and move listeners. Although he’s no longer with us, his songs continue breathing life through new covers, samples, and rediscovery among music lovers.
Today, with streaming and renewed interest in classic soul, many of Skip Scarborough’s works are being revisited — both by fans and new artists searching for emotional roots in modern production. His legacy is woven into the DNA of contemporary R&B and neo-soul, even where his name is quietly acknowledged.
If you like, I can include YouTube links of some of his most beloved songs and suggest how to trace Scarborough’s influence in current music.
