Don Was

Don Was is an American musician and record producer who first became known with the group Was (Not Was). Born in Detroit, he formed that band with school friend David Weiss and scored the hit Walk the Dinosaur. His production career brought six Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year in 1994 and Album of the Year for Bonnie Raitt's Nick of Time. He produced albums for the Rolling Stones and the B-52s; the Stones' Blue and Lonesome won a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues album. His score for Backbeat earned a BAFTA, and he won a 2014 Emmy for music direction on the CBS special The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles. In 1995 he directed a documentary about Brian Wilson, I Just Wasn't Made for These Times, which took the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival. He has led Blue Note Records since 2012.