Robert John "Mutt" Lange

Robert John Lange
Birth name	Robert John Lange
Also known as	"Mutt" Lange
Born	November 11, 1948 (1948-11-11) Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia
Origin	London, United Kingdom
Genres	Rock, pop, country
Occupations	record producer, songwriter
Instruments	Bass, Guitar, Background vocals
Years active	1974–present
Associated acts	Shania Twain, Def Leppard, AC/DC, The Boomtown Rats, Outlaws, Foreigner, Bryan Adams, Nickelback, Maroon 5, Lady GaGa

Robert John "Mutt" Lange ( /ˈlæŋ/; born November 11, 1948) is a Zambian-born British record producer and songwriter, usually known by his nickname "Mutt". Lange is one of the most successful producers in rock history. He has produced albums for artists such as AC/DC, Nickelback, Def Leppard, Graham Parker and the Rumour, Outlaws, Foreigner, The Cars, Bryan Adams, Billy Ocean, Savoy Brown, The Corrs and Maroon 5. His past projects included producing and writing songs with Canadian country singer and ex-wife Shania Twain. Her 1997 album, Come on Over, which he produced, is the all time best selling album by a female artist. Lange's latest project is a track called "You and I" on Lady Gaga's second studio album, Born This Way.

A strict vegetarian and a follower of Sant Mat, Lange has not given an interview of any kind for decades, and prefers to live a secluded life, mainly in Switzerland. He is known for his endurance in the studio and innovations in multitrack recording.

Biography

Robert John Lange was born in Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). His mother came from a prosperous family in Germany, and his South African father was a mining engineer. Nicknamed "Mutt" at an early age, Lange grew up a fan of country music, in particular the singer Slim Whitman. Sent to study at Belfast High School in South Africa, he started a music band in which he played rhythm guitar and sang harmonies.

He eventually married Stevie van Kerken (a.k.a. Stevie Vann) and moved to England where, in 1970, he started the band Hocus in which his wife sang. His marriage to Stevie broke down in the 1970s. Whilst still married, his personal attentions then turned to Belfast born employee Oonagh O'Reilly for five years before meeting Shania Twain.

In 1978, Lange wrote and produced Ipswich Town's FA Cup final single Ipswich Ipswich Get That Goal, his connection with the club being due to their South African born player Colin Viljoen.

Beginning production work in 1976, his first major hits came in October 1978 with the UK #1 single "Rat Trap" for The Boomtown Rats, followed in July 1979 with AC/DC's hard rock album Highway to Hell (#8 UK, #17 US). He produced two more albums with AC/DC, including Back in Black (1980) which is currently the second-best selling album of all time in the U.S. He also worked with 1980's pop-rock group Foreigner with 4, and with Def Leppard on their hit albums, High 'n' Dry, Pyromania, Hysteria and Adrenalize co-writing most of the songs. Though he did not produce AC/DC's 1983 album Flick of the Switch, it was rumored that during the completion of that album he was asked to help his long time engineer Tony Platt finish it up by giving it a listen.

After Hysteria, Lange felt he had contributed all that he could to Def Leppard's career, and he decided to bow out of working with them while they were at their peak. He would return to work with them years later in a more limited role in 1999, co-writing three tracks for their album Euphoria. One of these songs, "Promises", was a #1 hit on the Mainstream Rock charts for the band.

In 1991, he produced Bryan Adams' Waking Up the Neighbours, including co-writing "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", a hugely-successful single written for the Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves that currently holds the record for the longest consecutive number 1 UK chart single with 16 consecutive weeks at number one (7 July-26 October 1991).

After hearing Shania Twain's material, he got in touch with her and they spent many hours on the phone with each other. They finally met six months after the initial contact and were married on December 28, 1993. Because Lange is a teetotaller, they had non-alcoholic champagne at their wedding. Lange also had the song "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" performed as a sign of his dedication. In August 2001, their son Eja (pronounced "Asia") was born. On May 15, 2008, a spokesperson for Mercury Nashville announced that Twain and Lange were separating after Lange had an affair with Twain's best friend, Marie-Anne Thiebaud. The couple have since divorced and Twain is now married to Thiebaud's ex-husband Frederic.

He produced the single "Make You" from the album Great Escape by Irish singer Tara Blaise which was released in May 2008.

In the 2001 made-for-TV movie Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story, actor Anthony Michael Hall portrayed Lange.

Discography

Produced albums

Albums on which Lange produced at least 3 tracks

• City Boy – City Boy, 1976
• City Boy – Dinner at the Ritz, 1976
• Graham Parker – Heat Treatment, 1976
• Supercharge – Local Lads Make Good, 1976
• The Motors - The Motors, 1977
• City Boy – Young Men Gone West, 1977
• Clover – Love On The Wire, 1977
• Clover – Unavailable, 1977
• Supercharge – Horizontal Refreshment, 1977
• The Boomtown Rats – The Boomtown Rats, 1977
• The Rumour – Max, 1977
• Savoy Brown - Savage Return, 1978
• Michael Stanley Band - Cabin Fever, 1978
• City Boy – Book Early, 1978
• Outlaws – Playin' to Win, 1978
• The Boomtown Rats – A Tonic for the Troops, 1978
• Deaf School – English Boys/Working Girls, 1978
• City Boy – The Day the Earth Caught Fire, 1979
• The Records – Shades In Bed, 1979
• Supercharge – Body Rhythm, 1979
• The Boomtown Rats – The Fine Art of Surfacing, 1979
• AC/DC – Highway to Hell, 1979
• Broken Home – Broken Home, 1979
• AC/DC – Back in Black, 1980
• AC/DC – For Those About to Rock We Salute You, 1981
• Def Leppard – High 'N' Dry, 1981
• Foreigner – 4, 1981
• Def Leppard – Pyromania, 1983
• The Cars – Heartbeat City, 1984
• Def Leppard – Hysteria, 1987
• Romeo's Daughter – Romeo's Daughter, 1988
• Billy Ocean – Tear Down These Walls, 1989
• Bryan Adams – Waking Up the Neighbours, 1991
• Def Leppard – Adrenalize (executive producer), 1992
• Michael Bolton – The One Thing, 1993
• Stevie Vann – Stevie Vann, 1995
• Bryan Adams – 18 'Til I Die, 1996
• Shania Twain – The Woman in Me, 1995
• Shania Twain – Come on Over, 1997
• The Corrs – In Blue, 2000
• No Secrets – No Secrets, 2002
• Shania Twain – Up!, 2002
• Shania Twain – Greatest Hits, 2004
• Nickelback - Dark Horse, 2008
• Maroon 5 - Hands All Over, 2010

Produced album tracks

Albums on which Lange produced at least one track:

• Stephen – Right On Running Man, 1974/5
• XTC - "This Is Pop" (single version), 1978
• Billy Ocean – Suddenly, 1984
• Billy Ocean – Love Zone, 1986
• Celine Dion – All The Way...A Decade Of Song, 1999
• Backstreet Boys – Backstreet's Back, 1997
• Backstreet Boys – Millennium, 1999
• Britney Spears - "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know", 2000
• Celine Dion – A New Day Has Come, 2002
• Bryan Adams – Room Service, 2004
• Anne Murray - Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends, 2007
• Bryan Adams - 11, 2008
• Tara Blaise - Great Escape ("Make You"), 2008
• Lady Gaga - "You and I" from Born This Way, 2011
• Zander Bleck - "Bring it on" from MONUMENT, 2012

Album tracks written or co-written

• Jessica Andrews – "I'll Take Your Heart" from Heart Shaped World, 1999
• Backstreet Boys - "If You Want It to Be Good Girl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy)" from Backstreet's Back, 1997
• Backstreet Boys - "It's Gotta Be You" from Millennium, 1999
• Blackhawk – "I'm Not Strong Enough to Say No" from Strong Enough, 1995
• Billy Ray Cyrus – "Only God (Could Stop Me Loving You)" from Storm in the Heartland, 1994
• Bonnie Tyler – "I Cry Myself to Sleep at Night" from Angel Heart, 1992
• Michael Bolton - "I'm Not Made of Steel","Said I Love You.. But I Lied" and "Ain't Got Nothing If You Ain't Got Love" from The One Thing, 1993
• Michael Bolton - "Can I Touch You.. There?" and "I Promise You" from Greatest Hits 1985-1995, 1995
• Michael Bolton - "Only A Woman Like You" from Only A Woman Like You, 2003
• Boyzone – "When The Going Gets Tough (The Tough Get Going)" from By Request, 1999
• Brandy – "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" from Never Say Never, 1998
• Britney Spears – "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" from Oops!… I Did It Again, 2000
• Celine Dion - "If Walls Could Talk" from All The Way..A Decade of Song, 1999
• Celine Dion - "Goodbye's (The Saddest Word)" from A New Day Has Come, 2002
• The Corrs - "Breathless" from In Blue
• The Corrs - "All the Love in the World" from In Blue
• The Corrs - "Irresistible" from In Blue
• Def Leppard - "Promises", "All Night" and "It's Only Love" from Euphoria, 1999
• Def Leppard - "Photograph" from Pyromania, 1983
• Diamond Rio – "I Thought I'd Seen Everything" from Unbelievable, 1998
• Emerson Drive - "Only God (Could Stop Me Loving You)" from Emerson Drive, 2002
• Starship – "I Didn't Mean to Stay All Night" from Love Among the Cannibals, 1989
• Jonas Brothers - "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" from Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience, 2009
• Heart – "Wild Child" and "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" from Brigade, 1990
• Heart – "Will You Be There (In the Morning) from Desire Walks On, 1993
• Huey Lewis and the News – "Do You Believe in Love" from Picture This, 1982
• Huey Lewis and the News – "It Hit Me Like a Hammer" from Hard at Play, 1991
• Engelbert Humperdinck - "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" from Let There Be Love, 2005
• Lonestar - "You Walked In" from Crazy Nights, 1997
• Loverboy - "Lovin' Every Minute of It" from Lovin' Every Minute of It, 1985
• Reba McEntire – "I'll Take Your Heart" from Moments and Memories: The Best of Reba (Australian release only), 1998
• Eddie Money – "Heaven in the Back Seat" from Right Here, 1991
• Nickelback - "I'd Come For You","Never Gonna Be Alone","Shakin' Hands","Something In Your Mouth" and "This Afternoon" from Dark Horse, 2009
• Billy Ocean – "Loverboy" from Suddenly, 1984
• Billy Ocean – "Love Zone" and "When The Going Gets Tough (The Tough Get Going)" from Love Zone, 1986
• Billy Ocean – "Tear Down These Walls", "Calypso Crazy" and "Get Outta My Dreams, And Into My Car" from Tear Down These Walls, 1988
• Billy Ocean – "License to Chill" and "I Sleep Much Better In Someone Else's Bed" from Greatest Hits, 1989
• PJ Powers – "(Let That) River Roll" from Thandeka Talk To Me, 2001
• Real McCoy - "(If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here" from One More Time, 1997
• Chrissy Steele – "I Cry Myself to Sleep at Night" from Magnet To Steele, 1991
• Steps – "Stay with Me Tonight" (recorded as "Stay with Me") from Step One, 1998
• Tina Turner - "Why Must We Wait Until Tonight" from What's Love Got To Do With It, 1993
• Lari White - "Only God (Could Stop Me Loving You)" from Stepping Stone, 1999 (duet w/ Toby Keith)

Grammy Awards

• 1991 - "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" - Best Song Written Specifically For A Motion Picture Or For Television
• 1995 - The Woman In Me - Best Country Album
• 1998 - "You're Still the One" - Best Country Song
• 1999 - "Come on Over" - Best Country Song

External links

• Robert John "Mutt" Lange at the Internet Movie Database