Scacy Haywood

The DC Soul Searchers has within its members some of the most talented
Artist in the music industry. Donald Tillery helped the original Soul Searchers mold out
A DC sound that became a national art form and is mimicked in hit songs today.
He not only plays the trumpet and conducts the band, his vocals are on the same level as
Some of the great male R&B artist of our time past & present.
Another vocalist in the band, Irving Scacy Haywood who won the 2013 Md. State Idol contest is a DC legend. His talents through years earned him membership in the Presidents, The DC Playboys, Heard Winley & the Glovers and many other R&B groups.
Our guitarist Benjamin Young a graduate of Berkley College of music has performed with some of the nation’s greatest.
Our Basses Joe. Lawrence is a pure genus and has performed with great artist like Bob Marley and Sarah Dash to name a few.
What you are getting when you let us entertain you is a seasoned group of professional artists ready to make your event a special one of a kind celebration.

Irving (AKA Scacy) started singing when he was 13 years old. He and a few of his NE Washington DC friends began harmonizing on their street corners often until dark just enjoying the sweet sounds of the music they had created. They formed a singing group called the Vells" and started performing at school functions and talent shows. In 1961they entered a talent show contest and won one week at the Howard theater. The billboard read Marv Johnson, The Flamingos, The Cadillacs, Billy Blann, Etta Jones, The Vells, Mike Gram, M C.
To their delight The Vell’s met Freddy Smith, bass singer for the "Starlighters" who had an array of hits such as " Its Twelve O" Clock , Birdland and I Cried. Their lead singer was Van McCoy one of the greatest song writers of that time. Freddy took an interest in the group and decided to work with them. Once he was pleased with their progress he happily introduced them to Van. The first thing he advised them to do was to change the group’s name to DC Playboys. They took his advice and became the "DC Playboys". In 1964 they recorded & released "You Were all I needed" & flip side "To Much". One of Irving’s greatest moments was when Van asked me to sing lead on both songs because I usually sang background. After the DC Playboys dismantled, Irving and another member of the Playboys, Alvin McCloud, joined another DC singer Archie Powell and formed a vocal group they called "The Ascots" who recorded the songs " L.O.V.E. love and Another Day."
In the late 60s and early 70s the music style changed and the era of the bands emerged. Washington DC. had the best which included, The Soul Searchers, Black Heat, The Young Senators and My band Scacy & the Sound Service. I chose the name Scacy in honor of my uncle who was listed as MIA during the war. The band became very popular performing six nights a week at various social functions. They also opened for great artist such as, Stevie Wonder at the Warner Theater, War and Chuck Brown to name a few. They recorded a well-received song called "Sunshine" written by band member Bennie Braxton on the SCACY label which is now defunct.
After the Scacy & the Sound Service period ended, I decided this was the time to slow down and enjoy a slower pace of life. Just by chance one evening he ran into an old girlfriend and at first they rekindled their friendship but eventually both realized it was love and shortly after that meeting they were married. Life was good and working a nine to five wasn’t too bad either. But within 3 months of joining the job world I received a call from long time friend and singing partner Archie Powell who offered me a position with The Presidents ((phone number hidden) years of love). with his wife’s blessing, I decided to join the group and make one last effort to conquer the industry. Columbia Records sent the Presidents to LA to perform on Soul Train. It was a moment I will always cherish but unfortunately this union came to an end quickly due to little promotion from the label which led to a lack of working engagements.
In 2007, Irving ran for the Council-at-Large seat in Glenarden and won. He served on the council for 4years and was elected by his colleagues to serve as Vice Chair during his second term. He realized that politics was not for him so he did not run for another term to the dismay of his constituients.
In the year 2011 music was resonating again so after successfully going through major heart surgery Irving realized he really missed singing and had to get back to it. He had a premonition during his hospital stay that if he returned to music he would be set on higher ground. This revelation came true in 2013 when I auditioned for the Prince Georges County Senior Idol Contest and won. Then along with 19 other contestants he competed in the 7th Maryland Senior Idol Contest and won this also.
Since resurrection Sunday 2011, I have been guest vocalist on numerous engagements with the Bowie State Jazz ensemble (20 peace horn section ). I created a music CD of classic R&B songs and appeared with the legendary Clovers on a sold out show that included the Flamingos at the Parker Playhouse that is located in Florida. I released a new song and video titled "I Just Pretend", In 2018 I became lead singer with the newly revived Soul Searchers band. Being a seasoned R/B RECORDING ARTIST with an impresive amount of state of the art sound equipment and musical backing tracks I have created a great show as I take you and your guest back in time singing songs that will bring back precious memories of the days when you were young.
My packages are designed with your budget in mind. Book my complete show with my 8 member band or go with my backing track SINGING DJ show.
Witch ever way you go you and your guest will have a great musical experience.

The DC Soul Searchers believe that the sound system is one of the most important aspects of the total performance so we spare nothing when it comes to sound equipment. We use state of the art 3000 watt speakers and sub woofers to create a sound that is crisp and clear and has the extremely low bass sounds that your quest will feel.

Feel free to use our mics at any time during the event.

We offer music during our brakes so be sure to let us know what songs you would like for us to play.

Please allow our sound engineers at least an hour to setup before the event.

We look forward to serving your musical needs.