[2] Tom Scott's career began as a teenager as leader of the jazz ensemble Neoteric Trio, and the band Men of Note.

According to Bob Woodward's account in Wired, a biography of John Belushi, Scott left the band after their 1980 tour over a salary dispute.

He has numerous film and television scoring credits, including composing and conducting the score for the film Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and appeared on records by the Beach Boys, Blondie ("Rapture"), Grateful Dead, George Harrison, Whitney Houston ("Saving All My Love for You"), Quincy Jones, Carole King, Richard Marx ("Children of the Night"), Paul McCartney ("Listen to What the Man Said"), Joni Mitchell, Eddie Money, Olivia Newton-John, Pink Floyd, Helen Reddy, Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan ("Black Cow"), Steppenwolf, and Rod Stewart ("Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?").

A portion of his song "Today," from his debut album The Honeysuckle Breeze, is used as the main sample for the hip-hop classic "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)"

The L.A. Express The Blues Brothers The GRP All-Star Big Band With Joan Baez With Glen Campbell With The Carpenters With Natalie Cole With Christopher Cross With Neil Diamond With Donovan With Don Ellis With Dan Fogelberg With George Harrison With Richard "Groove" Holmes With Rickie Lee Jones With Carole King With Barry Manilow With Michael McDonald With Joni Mitchell With Eddie Money With Oliver Nelson With Juice Newton With Randy Newman With Dolly Parton With Minnie Riperton With Johnny Rivers With Howard Roberts With Lalo Schifrin With Boz Scaggs With Rod Stewart With Barbra Streisand With Gábor Szabó With Steely Dan With Tina Turner With Jimmy Webb With Paul Williams With jschlatt With others