15 Facts About Don Was

Primarily a bass player, Was co-founded the funk-rock band Was.

In high school, Don Was became the lead singer and guitar player in a Detroit rock band called the Saturns.

Don Was has received four Grammy Awards including the 1994 Grammy Award for Producer of the Year.

Don Was produced several albums for Bonnie Raitt including her Nick of Time album that won the 1989 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Don Was collaborated with co-producer Ziggy Marley, on Family Time, winner of 2009's Best Musical Album For Children.

Don Was produced the Rolling Stones' 2016 album Blue and Lonesome, which won the Grammy for Best Traditional Blues album.

Don Was received the British Academy Award for Best Original Score in recognition of his compositions for the film Backbeat.

Don Was worked on the Rolling Stones' reissues Exile on Main Street, released in May 2010 and Some Girls released in October 2011.

Don Was scoured old master recordings of the albums for lost gems, remastering some songs while producing entirely new vocals and tracks on others.

Don Was produced the B-52's 1989 album Cosmic Thing, which included their smash hit "Love Shack".

Since 2008, Don Was has hosted the proceedings at the Detroit All-Star Revue, an annual showcase of local acts from the Detroit music scene.

From 2009 to 2012, Don Was hosted a weekly radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio's Outlaw Country channel called The Motor City Hayride.

In 2018, Don Was joined former Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir and drummer Jay Lane to form Wolf Bros, a trio which undertook a North American tour in the Fall of 2018, and continued with a second tour of twenty more shows in the Spring of 2019.

Don Was is the son of World War II veteran and Bronze Star Medal awardee Bill Fagenson, who served with the 96th Infantry, 381st Regiment.

Don Was's sister is Nancy Potok, former Chief Statistician of the United States.