Robert John "Mutt" Lange

The quintessential arena rock producer, Robert John "Mutt" Lange rose to fame on the strength of blockbuster albums from acts including Def Leppard, AC/DC, and Foreigner. His career began in 1976, when he produced Graham Parker's Heat Treatment as well as the self-titled debut from City Boy, the first in a series of collaborations with the group. Lange's breakthrough followed three years later with AC/DC's seminal Highway to Hell. He reunited with the group a year later for the classic Back in Black, followed in 1981 by Foreigner's mega-hit 4, which earned him a Grammy nomination as Producer of the Year. That same year, he also helmed Def Leppard's High 'N' Dry, his first collaboration with the band; 1983's Pyromania made them stars, with Lange co-writing smash hits including "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages." Other hits he authored from the same period included Loverboy's "Lovin' Every Minute of It" and Huey Lewis & the News' "Do You Believe in Love." After his next monster hit, the Cars' 1984 album Heartbeat City, Lange reunited with AC/DC on 1986's Who Made Who before returning to the Def Leppard camp for 1987's Hysteria, one of the best-selling rock albums of all time. With Billy Ocean's Tear Down These Walls, Lange moved into R&B, scoring a smash single with "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car." A long layoff preceded the release of his next production, Bryan Adams' 1991 LP Waking Up the Neighbours, which generated the mega-hit "Everything I Do I Do It for You." He then hit a snag with Def Leppard's disappointing 1992 effort, Adrenalize, before returning to hitmaking form a year later with Michael Bolton's The One Thing While his skill as a producer and collaborator had by this point been proven many times over, Lange's next project would bring him still greater...