Scott Mathews (born July 25, 1955) is an American music producer, composer, performer, and entrepreneur. He has appeared as a musician, songwriter or producer on recordings with sales of more than 50 million units which earned more than 30 gold and multi-platinum

RIAA Certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) operates an awards program based on the certified number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. As a recording artist, he recorded for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

and established the video department at Capitol just prior to

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. Mathews owns and operates a private studio, TikiTown, along with four production and publishing companies.

Early career

Mathews began playing music at a young age. At age 15, he got his first break playing with

Elvin Bishop Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015, and in ...

at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium. In 1973, Mathews met future long-time collaborator Ron Nagle. Nagle was already an established songwriter and recording artist for

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, best known at the time for his 1970 album ''Bad Rice''. Nagle and Mathews teamed up and began to write and record material in Nagle's garage studio in San Francisco. Turning 18, Mathews moved to

Sausalito, California Sausalito ( Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...

, sharing a house with David Jenkins of Pablo Cruise, making a living as a session musician while writing and producing 'blueprints for records' with Nagle. Mathews soon began producing radio and television jingles for various ad agencies. This led to

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

being the first notable artist Mathews produced in the recording studio. Mathews convinced an advertising agency he could get Orbison to license his biggest worldwide hit,

Oh, Pretty Woman "Oh, Pretty Woman", or simply "Pretty Woman", is a song recorded by Roy Orbison and written by Orbison and Bill Dees. It was released as a single in August 1964 on Monument Records and spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, '' ...

for Tone, a women's body soap manufactured by

The Dial Corporation Henkel Corporation, doing business as Henkel North American Consumer Goods and formerly The Dial Corporation, is an American company based in Stamford, Connecticut. It is a manufacturer of personal care and household cleaning products and is a su ...

. The campaign was such a success that Mathews followed it up with

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

on Victoria Station radio ads. Ron Nagle's producer from his solo record,

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spector, a ...

, heard some of the duo's new material and hired them to work on film scores and record projects. In Nitzsche, Mathews found his mentor in the music business and high-profile projects followed soon after. Performing and producing sessions under Nitzsche, Mathews worked on his first movie soundtrack,

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may refer to: * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Ken Kesey * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (play), a 1963 stage adaptation of the novel starring Kirk Douglas * ''One Flew Over the ...

, and was Nitzsche's multi-instrumentalist and close assistant on various recording projects with major artists such as

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...

, Dr. John. In 1977,

heard one of Mathews and Nagle's songs at a meeting with Jack Nitzsche. She asked to meet with the two composers and the three began writing together in a bungalow at

The Beverly Hills Hotel The Beverly Hills Hotel, also called the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. One of the world's best-known hotels, it is closely associated with Hollywood film stars, rock stars, and ce ...

. They wrote "Don't Believe What You Read" for Streisand's album ''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

'' which went double-platinum in the United States . Mathews also assisted Nitzsche in writing the arrangements for the album. Mathews and Nagle also wrote and published songs by

The Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their self-titled 1975 debut album included the single " White Punks on Dope", while their 1983 single " She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the ear ...

including the cult favorite, " Don't Touch Me There". Also in 1977, Mathews played drums and dobro on

's album '' Southern Nights'' on

and worked with Nitzsche on the arrangements of several songs.

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

contacted Mathews to help with a musical finale for his shows in San Francisco at The Boarding House. Following that success, Williams took the show to New York at the Copacabana. Mathews urged Williams to record some shows, which led to a record deal with

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...

. The result was an ''Reality ... What a Concept'', the first

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winning project for both Williams and Mathews. Mathews was a studio musician on the

Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...

album '' Keepin' the Summer Alive''.

Acting

Mathews starred as Fluke Starbucker in the 1977 ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' parody '' Hardware Wars''. It was highly profitable, grossing in excess of $1,000,000 on a paltry $8,000 budget.

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

said in a 1999 interview on the UK's ''

The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 from 1992 to 2002, and as a revival from 2021 to 2022. The show had various presenters, starting with Chris Evans (presenter), ...

'' television show that ''Hardware Wars'' was his favorite ''Star Wars'' parody. In 2003, the film was honored by

Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company founded by filmmaker George Lucas in December 10, 1971 in San Rafael, California, and later moved to San Francisco in 2005. It is best known for creating and producing th ...

when it was given the Pioneer Award at that year's The Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards. In August 2010, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine listed it as one of the top 10 ''Star Wars'' fanfilms.

Dūrocs

Following Mathews' writing and production work with artists on

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

approached him and Nagle to build a band project. Nagle and Mathews, funded by A&M, wrote and produced material under the name Dūrocs. The duo ended up signing with

as a

production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...

to produce artists already on the label and/or new artists they brought in. Capitol's

Artists and repertoire Artists and repertoire (or A&R for short) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for scouting, financing, and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists and songwriters. It also acts as a l ...

division pushed for Mathews and Nagle to record their own album as the first project with the label and the duo agreed although the so-called 'band', Durocs, but never had any intention of performing live. Originally labeled as new wave and

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

, Dūrocs wrote and produced material that was more diverse and explored Mathews and Nagle's interests in the styles of The Brill Building,

Leiber and Stoller Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...

and

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

. Durocs did not assemble a band to tour in support of the album. En lieu of touring, they produced music videos for their two singles. Dūrocs left Capitol late in 1980 to focus on production and songwriting for other artists.Liberatore, Paul – "Press Play: The Dūrocs 1979 Masterpiece Get Re-Issued", Marin Independent Journal, August 10, 2012, p. 15 In 1981 the video department Dūrocs helped Capitol build thrived as the label was prepared to make promotional videos for the new

television channel. The song "Lie to Me" was featured on the 1980 ''

WKRP in Cincinnati ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' is an American sitcom television series about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional AM radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson. It was based upon his experiences obs ...

'' episode " A Family Affair". After negotiations with

, Real Gone Music released the original Dūrocs record in 2012. The Durocs negotiated for a limited edition vinyl series to be released exactly 33 1/3 years (representing the RPMs of an album) after the original record. Along with the original LP are eight previously unheard Dūrocs 'bone-us' tracks, all recorded shortly after the Capitol release.

Other work

In 1989, Mathews recorded vocals on

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

's '' Nearly Human'' and joined Rundgren on tour. He also performed multi-instruments and vocals on

's ''Live in Chicago '91''. Mathews and Nagle co-wrote the 1990 title song to

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh retired singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock and New wave music, new wave, having many hit record, h ...

'' Closer to the Flame''. In 1991, Mathews moved to

Marin County Marin County ( ) is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is ac ...

and founded Hit or Myth Productions, Inc. Mathews hired his own A&R staff for recruiting primarily emerging artists and bought a split level house in

Mill Valley Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mill Valley is lo ...

, CA on the edge of

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

which became his ideal private recording studio, TikiTown, named for the enormous Tiki statues that surround it.

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

was one of the first artists Mathews brought into the studio and he loved it so much he set up an entire large room as a gym so he could work out while there. TikiTown is also renowned for its museum level quality of music memorabilia and ultra rare Hall of Fame type pieces. In 1993 Mathews and music journalist

Joel Selvin Joel Selvin (born February 14, 1950) is an American San Francisco-based music critic and author known for his weekly column in the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', which ran from 1972 to 2009. Selvin has written books covering various aspects of po ...

met with

Dick Dale Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American Rock music, rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scale (music), scales and experimenting wit ...

in Twentynine Palms, CA. Their meeting convinced Dale to come out of retirement and record with Mathews. Dale experienced a renewed interest in his music and earned the #1 college radio record for his '' Tribal Thunder'' comeback LP which Mathews co-produced. In December 2011, Mathews signed on as executive producer with the Hong Kong-based, Far West Entertainment. Less than two months after, Mathews produced the #1 ''Billboard'' track "Dance On" with Pan Asian girl group Blush. On January 24, 2014, Mathews helped arrange for his longtime friend,

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

to be inducted at the 29th annual TEC Awards Hall of Fame at the

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual trade show in the United States organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which describes it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

. The evening also provided for a reunion with

who won the

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

Award for his musical innovation. On October 19, Mathews was honored with a Milley Award, a local Bay Area award for 'recognition and appreciation for his outstanding achievement in performing, creating and demonstrating his significant body of work, service to the arts community and artistic vision, diligence and perseverance.' In his speech upon receiving the award, he spoke; "It has been at least a couple lifetime's of great fortune and I'm most grateful for it. I have been able to live quite comfortably in the Bay Area, hermetically sealed in the recording studio, creating new music rather than re-creating it on stage and living the life of a carny. But I don't think the past can possibly provide what the future promises and deeply feel my best work is ahead of me. The rear-view mirror is so much smaller than the windshield."

Charitable work

Mathews serves as Chairman of the San Francisco Bay Area Council of Little Kids Rockname=Little Kids Rockhttp://greatnonprofits.org/org/little-kids-rock which provides a nationwide program of free musical education and instruments to impoverished public schools.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, Scott Living people 1955 births Businesspeople from Sacramento, California Record producers from California Songwriters from California People from Sausalito, California