NN native's gospel career is hitting higher notes
Source: Newport News Daily Press
By: Monette Austin

The song played in her head like a motivational refrain. It spoke of better times ahead if she didn't give up.
"The Lord is faithful. ...Press on through the wind, through the rain. Press on through the pain."
That song, "Press Toward the Mark," gave Deborah Scott-Marrow some needed encouragement at a low point in her life 3 1/2 years ago. She had been separated from her husband in Newport News and moved to Los Angeles to be closer to her parents. Without a job, she relied on public assistance to help her and her two young boys get by.
The Newport News native's dreams singiing nationally as a soloist or with a choir waited.
Now her wait is over. Scott-Marrow auditioned for and received a part in the Rev. Norman Hutchins' newly formed L.A. Praise Ensemble a year ago. She later learned Hutchins was the writer and producer of "Press Toward the Mark." It was recorded by a group earlier, the West Angeles Saints in Praise.
For Scott-Marrow, a former bank teller, that was one more sign that her life was taking an uphill turn.
Scott-Marrow, a 1979 graduate of Denbigh High School, soon landed a job with the Department of Immigration and Naturalization. Then came a new car and an apartment. There were requests to sing on local cable shows and the chance to copyright some of her own material. With the help of Hutchins, she's working on a solo project.
"I want to pursue a music ministry," she says. Scott- Marrow, mother to 3-year-old Isaiah and 13-year-old Darryl, now works with a teen prisoners program and sings in convalesent homes.
Her decision to sing gospel or inspirational music came after she became a Christian 10 years ago. She says she still enjoys jazz performances, but steers clear of anything that will cause her to "straddle the fence."
"I want to sing gospel or inspirational music," she says. "I prefer to stay away from alcohol and that stuff. A lot of musicians get into that. I definitely didn't want to go in that direction."
Scott-Marrow has been singing since her days at Dozier Intermediate School in Newport News. Her full alto voice practiced on R&B ballads and pop tunes. In 1975, she sang with the Virginia All-State Choir and was named best vocalist in her graduating class. "Singing is something that I always wanted to do," she says.
She found encouragement for her talent from other musicians and singers while at Denbigh High. "I met the Wooten Brothers," she says. "They really encouraged me. Joe wrote in my yearbook, 'One day I'm going to see you on TV.'"
Victor and Roy Wooten helped form the popular alternative jazz band, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Joe Wooten is also a musician.
Scott-Marrow's television debut may not be too far away. "The Bobby Jones Gospel Hour," a program broadcast on cable's Black Entertainment Television, filmed a segment with Norman Hutchins and the L.A. Praise Ensemble recently. No air date has been set.
Although her roots stem from North Carolina soil and she's happy on the West Coast, Scott-Marrow calls Hampton Roads her home base. Her grandmother, brother, cousins, nieces and nephews live in Hampton Roads. Her sister is in nearby North Carolina. Her mother and father, Robert and Nora Scott, live in California but want to come back to Newport News.
Not Scott-Marrow. "This is the best place for me" she says.