Jane Scott

Jane Scott (May 3, 1919 – July 4, 2011) was an influential rock critic for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. During her career she covered every major rock concert in Cleveland and was on a first name basis with many stars. Scott was the first major female rock critic, and then the oldest in a field that was mostly dominated by men. Until her retirement from the newspaper in April 2002 she was known as "The World's Oldest Rock Critic." She was also influential in bringing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Cleveland. Scott was born at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio in 1919. She is a 1937 graduate of Lakewood High School in Lakewood, Ohio, and a 1941 graduate of the University of Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in English, Speech and Drama and she also earned a teachers certificate. Scott had one brother, Will (also deceased); she had no children and never married. Career history Scott's first experience with journalism was as a staff member of the school newspaper, the Michigan Daily, while she attended the University of Michigan. In 1942, the Cleveland Press newspaper hired Scott as a secretary in their advertising department. Later that year, she enlisted in women's branch of the Navy, the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), rising to the rank of Lieutenant. After leaving the Navy, she took some additional classes at the Wilcox College of Communication in Cleveland to learn typing and shorthand. Around this time, she also began working for a suburban newspaper, the Chagrin Valley Herald, as the Women's Editor. This also opened doors for her as a stringer reporter for The Plain Dealer. As such, she was not a member of The Plain Dealer staff, but she reported on events in the Cleveland suburbs of Chagrin Falls, Russell, Bentleyville and Pepper Pike.