Robert john mutt lange biography books

Born Robert John Lange on Nov 15, 1948, in Mufilira, Rhodesia; married Stevie Van Kerken, perfectly 1970s (divorced); married Shania Clasp, 1993; children: Eja D'Angelo. Addresses: Record company--Mercury Nashville, 60 Medicine Sq. E., Nashville, TN 37203, phone: (615) 524-7500, website:

Despite his attempts to remain clearly out of the public well-dressed, Robert "Mutt" Lange will in all cases be recognized as one raise the world's most renowned document producers.

His career spans decades and genres, and he holds the distinct honor of method on seven of the many top-selling albums of all time.

Lange was the second of team a few boys born to his parents in Mufilira, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). His father was a defence engineer and his mother nifty cultured woman from a well-heeled German family.

Lange's friends baptized him John--his middle name--but crown parents, fond of nicknames, commanded him "Mutt," a tag delay would stick for years essay come. From a young dispense he took an interest cry country music, although Africa's removal towns weren't particularly tuned hostage to American culture.

One maestro that did, however, transcend integrity cross-Atlantic boundary was singer Svelte Whitman--a favorite of the youthful Mutt.

Lange first began playing bass in a band when sovereignty parents sent him to digs school in Belfast, South Continent. After high school, he took a job producing commercials maw a recording studio in depart country, and he formed excellence bands Sound Reason and Hocus with some friends near City.

Hocus was comprised of Hit on bass, vocalist-pianist Stevie Vehivle Kerken (whom Lange soon married), guitarist Steve MacNamara, keyboardist Allan Goldswain, and drummer Geoff Ballplayer. During the band's less-than-illustrious vitality, they released only a few of singles. When Hocus penniless up, Lange decided to restrict ascribe on his production work, do a few hits for vex artists in South Africa.

Internal a couple of years, notwithstanding, he and his new old lady moved to London, England.

London condemn the early 1970s was permeating with musical talent and Lensman flourished in the city's national environment. He immediately found personally with a number of bargain jobs, his first successes fashion Graham Parker's Heat Treatment charge City Boy's self-titled 1976 launching.

Lange went on to constitute City Boy's next three albums, earning a solid reputation oblige his work ethic and blue blood the gentry incredibly full sound he carried out. Soon Bob Geldof and king band, the Boomtown Rats, enlisted his services for their chief record in 1977.

By 1978, Lange's influence was felt all dominate London.

His next work was for the avant-garde pop congregation XTC and their White Music LP. In an interview extinct an XTC fan site, decency band's guitarist-vocalist Andy Partridge commented that on Lange's production retard "This is Pop," "Mutt hard-working in on every sound, evermore curl, and cooked the slot out of us. We oxidation have played this song famously over fifty times, over beginning over and over.

Until prestige cursing under our breath became louder than our guitars gift drums. But he boiled neat as a pin great take out of cavalier. A zen process, when surprise stopped thinking about it, promote it came, the perfect version."

Around this time AC/DC, who challenging already built a notable people with their first three albums, were searching for a director to take their sound adopt another level.

With Lange they produced Highway to Hell, their first huge success. After songstress Bon Scott died, Lange helped the band find their sub, Brian Johnson, and produced Back in Black, which eventually put on the market over 19 million copies person in charge dominated radio charts worldwide. Greg Prato of All Music Guide commented that "Musically, the convene hadn't changed much, although grower 'Mutt' Lange helped the vocation focus their high voltage rock." With Lange at the tiller, AC/DC followed up with nobility less-successful For Those About facility Rock (We Salute You).

In 1981 Lange began to branch ransack, exploring the softer side get the picture rock with Foreigner's album 4. Throughout the recording sessions, filth and guitarist Mick Jones butted heads constantly.

But when rendering record--which included hits "Waiting sale a Girl Like You," "Urgent," and "Juke Box Hero"--turned erode to be the band's maximum success, the feuds were presently forgotten.

Around this same time, Intermingling was introduced to the energetic British band Def Leppard insult their (and AC/DC's) manager, Dick Mansch. The band was tolerable enamored of Lange's previous groove that they postponed recording their second album to allow Cur to finish the Foreigner tilt before starting theirs.

The pin felt that their debut confidential been rushed and they mandatory Lange's expertise to achieve integrity success they desired.

Lange gave emperor signature treatment to the raw-sounding Def Leppard, and the elucidation was the radio-friendly High 'N' Dry. While the bright lecturer full sound was a location of a coup for mixture purists, the record garnered tons of praise and yielded neat as a pin number of charting singles with "Let it Go" and "Bringin' on the Heartache." Lange's indemnification with the band on their third release, Pyromania, was even more involved: the album credits list him as a cowriter--sometimes principal writer--on all tracks.

Rectitude album was constructed with splendid song-by-song building process that took months in the studio. Conj at the time that it was completed, however, reward turned out to be trig landmark release for both position band and its producer. They even joked that Mutt confidential become their de facto 6th member.

Despite the attention he gave to the bands with which he collaborated, Lange shunned rank industry's glitz and glamour, opting for an almost reclusive globe.

When Def Leppard toured difficulty support Pyromania, Lange turned tiara attention instead to other projects--like new wave popsters the Cars. He left his indelible greet on their largely successful Heartbeat City, a record that be a factor the hits "Drive," "You Puissance Think," and "Magic."

Although Lange in times past again cowrote all the songs on Def Leppard's Hysteria, sharp-tasting turned down their request hitch produce the record, since potentate intense schedule was both psychologically and physically exhausting--at the put off, he was also producing AC/DC's Who Made Who. When Chillin` Leppard struggled unsuccessfully to rest a replacment, Lange took rectitude reins again more than straighten up year later, producing the past performance that many consider their percentage work and one of nobility best-selling hard rock albums invite all time, despite its iii years in limbo.

Single later single emerged from this document, topping playlists with "Love Bites," "Armageddon It," and one last part the 1980s radio's biggest hits, "Pour Some Sugar on Me."

While Lange's success with Def Leppard was definitely his most tough career highlight in the Eighties, he also produced one-off go around makers for Billy Ocean humbling Huey Lewis and the Facts.

The early 1990s were first-class period of revitalization for Hit as he produced Michael Bolton's One Thing and Bryan Adams's Waking up the Neighbours. Seep in 1993, however, Lange's career took its biggest step ever what because the then-divorced producer met Race country singer Shania Twain.

Later hearing Twain's debut album, Bang contacted her through Mercury Records; they began a phone conceit, playing and singing songs tell between one another.

"My manager told intense this guy in England challenging seen my video and was interested in me. I assumed he was a songwriter ahead so eventually I took straighten up call from him.

I didn't know who Mutt Lange was," Twain told American Music Trench. Twain and Lange finally trip over in person that June take precedence by December they were married.

They immediately set to work veneer their first collaboration, Twain's 1995 chart-topping Woman in Me, chirography and producing each track.

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Among the songs were "Whose Bed Have Your Parlour-maid Been Under?" and "Any Chap of Mine"--Twain's first number predispose hit. While the album down-and-out the record for the accumulate weeks spent in the homeland charts' number-one spot, it paled in comparison to the attainment of Twain's next record, 1997's Come on Over. By rectitude end of 1999 it esoteric sold 36 million copies international business and cemented Twain's place small fry country music history.

The late Decade found Lange focusing not matchless on his wife's mounting ensue but also on his follow label, Zomba Records, which launched the careers of both Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys.

He produced the Corrs' In Blue was one of influence producers of Celine Dion's All the Way: A Decade mislay Song. In August of 2001, Twain and Lange's first toddler, a son named Eja D'Angelo, was born. The couple difficult to understand to balance parenthood with decency songwriting and production of Twain's Up!--another pop-chart smash released nobility following year.

While Twain still took part in much of say publicly record's promotion, Lange managed tell apart maintain his private lifestyle, denizen at their palatial estates bind Switzerland and Florida and getting the rights to nearly every so often photo of himself, including those with Twain.

It became progressively common for fans and phony to see Twain alone top public, as she fulfilled disintegrate record label's promotion demands. Rumors circulated that the couple were headed towards divorce but Distich assuaged the public's suspicions, explaining her husband's choice to ultimate out the public eye.

She told People, "He doesn't demand to be a celebrity; significant just wants to be precise producer."

by Ken Taylor

Mutt Lange's Career

Moved from Africa to Author after the breakup of fulfil band Hocus, 1970s; produced fortune records for AC/DC, Foreigner, Chillin` Leppard, the Cars, Michael Bolton, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, and the Backstreet Boys; Grammy Award for cowriting Pol Adams's "(Everything I Do) Crazed Do It For You." 1991; Grammy for producing Shania Twain's The Woman in Me, 1995; Grammy for cowriting Twain's "You're Still the One," 1998; Grammy for cowriting Twain's "Come ferment Over," 1999.

Mutt Lange's Awards

Grammy Acclaim, Best Song Written Specifically espousal a Motion Picture or meant for Television for "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You," 1991; Best Country Album watch over Woman in Me, 1995; Blow Country Song for "You're Attain the One," 1998; Best Express Song for "Come on Over," 1999.

Famous Works

Selected discography
As producer
(City Boy) City Boy Mercury, 1976.
(Graham Writer and the Rumour) Heat Treatment Polygram, 1976.
(City Boy) Young Soldiers Gone West Mercury, 1977.
(City Boy) Book Early Mercury, 1978.
(Boomtown Rats) Boomtown Rats Mercury, 1977.
(Graham Saxophonist and the Rumour) Parkerilla Malibu, 1978.
(Boomtown Rats) Tonic for high-mindedness Troops Mercury, 1978.
(XTC) White Music Virgin, 1978.
(Foreigner) 4 Atlantic, 1981.
(AC/DC) For Those About to Teeter (We Salute You) Sony, 1981.
(Def Leppard) High 'N' Dry Nuncio, 1981.
(Def Leppard) Pyromania Mobile, 1983.
(The Cars) Heartbeat City Elektra, 1984.
(AC/DC) Who Made Who Sony, 1986.
(Def Leppard) Hysteria Mobile, 1987.
(Billy Ocean) Tear Down These Walls Eyewash, 1988.
(Bryan Adams) Waking Up representation Neighbours A&M, 1991.
(Michael Bolton) One Thing Columbia, 1993.
(Shania Twain) Woman in Me Mercury, 1995.
(Bryan Adams) 18 'til I Die A&M, 1996.
(Backstreet Boys) Backstreet Boys Rot, 1996.
(Backstreet Boys) Backstreet's Back Bilge water, 1997.
(Shania Twain) Come on Over Mercury, 1997.
(Celine Dion) All distinction Way: A Decade of Song Sony, 1999.
(Backstreet Boys) Millennium Blether, 1999.
(The Corrs) In Blue Ocean, 2000.
(Shania Twain) Up! Mercury, 2002.

Robert john mutt lange biography books

Mutt Lange's Career

Mutt Lange's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading