Don Was Born September 13, 1952

Biography

When The Rolling Stones moved into another decade as a recording band - their fourth - and realised they needed, once again, to move their sound on with the times and the technology, who did they turn to?

Enter Don Was. The Detroit-born Was (né Fagenson, in 1952) was an erstwhile pop star in his own right with left-field rock-funksters Was (Not Was), and more recently Superproducer to stars as various as Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Elton John and - the one that launched him into the stratosphere - Bonnie Raitt, for whom he mastered 1989's Nick Of Time, winner of the 1990 Album of the Year Grammy.

What made Don Was the right man for the job? Taking up production duties for The Rolling Stones, however illustrious your musical background, is not something everyone gets asked to do. Part of it had to do with Don's undoubted feel for the idiom of guitar rock - a form The Rolling Stones played no small part part in creating. The commercial success he had made a habit of achieving was obviously attractive, too.

Possibly what tipped the gig in his favour was his own musicianship. As with Jimmy Miller, who had been a journeyman drummer, Don has the ability to demonstrate his thinking practically and to sit in on recording sessions as a participant. Not that he and the rest of The Rolling Stones have always seen eye to eye, particularly at the beginning of the relationship.

After a young career playing session and tours with a variety of blues and jazz artists, Don Was collaborated with his old friend David Weiss (David Was) to form Was (Not Was), a cult act which earned critical and commercial plaudits with four successful albums and several hit singles in the 1980s, following up in the mid-90s with a Hank Williams cover album Forever Is A Long Long Time under the Orquestra Was banner, and a 2008 reunion album and sell-out tour.

As a producer, Don Was has achieved even greater success on albums by artists as various as Bonnie Raitt (1990 Grammy Album of the Year Nick of Time), Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop and Elton John. He won the 1995 Grammy for Producer of the Year, the year after his debut with The Rolling Stones, Voodoo Lounge, had won Rock Album of the Year.

Notable adventures in film include I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, the Brian Wilson documentary, which he produced and directed, the Best Original Score BAFTA for Backbeat, and music director credits for Thelma and Louise, The Freshman, Days of Thunder and Toy Story and The Paper.