Don Was

Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was, is an American musician, record producer, music director, film composer, documentary filmmaker and radio host. Since 2011, he has also served as president of the American jazz label Blue Note Records. For his work as a record producer, he has won six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year in 1989 for Bonnie Raitt's Nick of Time and Producer of the Year in 1994. In 1995 he produced and directed a documentary about the life of Brian Wilson, I Just Wasn't Made for These Times, that won the San Francisco Film Festival's Golden Gate Award. As a film composer, he won the 1994 British Academy Award (BAFTA) for Best Original Score in recognition of his work on the film Backbeat. He won the 2014 Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction for his work on the CBS TV special The Beatles: The Night That Changed America. Records that he has produced have sold close to 100 million albums for a wide range of artists including The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, John Mayer, Wayne Shorter, Kris Kristofferson, Iggy Pop, The B-52s, Brian Wilson, Elton John, Garth Brooks and Ryan Adams. Primarily known as a bassist, he has toured as a member of Bob Weir and The Wolf Bros since 2018. Born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, Was graduated from Oak Park High School in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, then attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor but dropped out after the first year. A journeyman musician, he grew up listening to the Detroit blues sound and the jazz music of John Coltrane and Miles Davis, amongst many others. As a teenager, Was took further influence from 1960s counterculture, most notably John Sinclair. In high school, Was became the lead singer and guitar player in a Detroit rock band called the Saturns. Using the stage name "Don Was", he formed the group Was (Not Was) with school friend David Weiss (David Was). The group found commercial success in the 1980s – releasing four albums and logging several hit records.