Scott Mateer
Roger "Scott" Mateer (1960–2006) was an American songwriter and radio disc jockey in the Jackson, Mississippi area. He was the co-writer of "Boogie Box" for Fern Kinney and "Dear Me", the first major hit for the country star Lorrie Morgan. Mateer also contributed spoken word vocals as the "Father William" on Operation: Mindcrime by the band Queensrÿche.
Mateer later worked for several Mississippi radio stations, including WZZQ FM, 94 TYX, and Miss 103 and co-founded Solarfire Records. Mateer suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure and died suddenly at the age of 46 in Flowood, Mississippi.
Early life and career
He was born Roger Mateer on October 23, 1960, at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson, to Clara Mae and Roger Mateer. His affluent parents indulged his every musical whim, including the piano, the guitar, the bass, and the organ.
By his teens, Mateer could play eight instruments to varying degrees. He attended the Jackson Preparatory School, and transferred during his senior year to Woodland Hills Academy before entering Hinds Community College.
At 16, Mateer had his first job as a weekend part-timer at WZZQ-FM in Jackson. He returned to ZZQ/102 in late 1980-early 1981 as a character on the Kevin in the Morning show with Kevin Vandenbroek. Vandenbroek won the Mississippi Broadcasters Association award for Best Program or Series with the help of Mateer.
Within a few years, he had a prime-time morning radio show at the Jackson pop station WTYX-FM. His quick wit with his first co-host, Jim Chick, and his ability to create memorable characters, garnered him top ratings in the Jackson FM radio market.
"Scotty" enjoyed a certain success when Bill Ellison came on board toward the end.
Mateer frequently traveled to Nashville in order to co-write with his mentor, the late Carson Whitsett, a studio veteran of Malaco Records in Jackson. During the early 1980s, they had their first hit in Europe. Called "Boogie Box", it was recorded by Fern Kinney, a one-hit wonder in the UK. This inspired Mateer to try for a record deal of his own. though it never happened. He kept writing with Whitsett and a few others. By this time he was married to his first wife, Lisa Williams, with whom he had one child, Carlin.
"Dear Me"
In the mid-1980s Mateer and Whitsett asked the Grand Ole Opry backing singer, Lorrie Morgan, to record some of their demos. Morgan had been signed to a record deal in 1979 but had only had limited success and her career was floundering. A couple of years later, she married the country singer Keith Whitley and was signed to RCA, at which point she recorded the album Leave the Light On, which included the "Dear Me" by Mateer and the late Whitsett. It was doing well, climbing the charts of Billboard magazine. Then, when her star husband, Keith Whitley, died of alcohol poisoning, the lyrics to Morgan's song suddenly took on a new meaning, perfectly fitting the"event that was happening in Morgan's life. His death inadvertently changed Morgan's musical career; it became her first top ten single from the album.
Later life
In radio, Mateer worked for one Jackson's popular radio stations, "Miss 103."
He proposed to Shari Schneider in 1994 and they married two years later.
Because of professional differences, Mateer left radio to work with his wife. Around 2000, he joined David McCoy to write songs for a music catalog. He also composed "Sweet Pilgrim" with Schneider. She continues to pursue the performance and publication of their collaborative work.
In 2005, Mateer was involved in an auto accident in Alabama while traveling to Nashville. A year later, on December 17, 2006, his lifeless body was discovered by Shari. He was 46.
Mateer is buried at Lakewood Memorial Cemetery. On his marker it reads, "May his music live forever."
External links
- A video
- "Songwriter, Radio Host Scott Mateer Dies At 46", AllAccess.com, December 19, 2006