Don Gehman is an American record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s with John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...

.

Gehman grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...

, and played bass in a local rock band. During the early 1970s, Gehman worked as a live sound engineer for well-known acts of the era, including James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

, Loggins & Messina, Blood, Sweat & Tears

Blood, Sweat & Tears

Blood, Sweat & Tears is an American music group, originally formed in 1967 in New York City. Since its beginnings in 1967, the band has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a multitude of musical styles...

, Chicago

Chicago (band)

Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...

, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, before transitioning to studio work on the advice of Stephen Stills

Stephen Stills

Stephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...

. He earned his first production credit on Stills' 1976 solo album Illegal Stills

Illegal Stills

Illegal Stills is a Stephen Stills album released in 1976.-Track listing:#"Buyin' Time" – 3:36#"Midnight in Paris" – 4:00#"Different Tongues" – 3:09...

.

Gehman's affiliation with Mellencamp began in 1980, when he engineered the singer's self-titled fourth LP

John Cougar (album)

John Cougar is the fourth album by John Cougar. Released in 1979, following the Australian success of "I Need a Lover" from the previous year's A Biography , the album included the aforementioned track for U.S...

. Two years later, he produced Mellencamp's American Fool

American Fool

American Fool is the sixth album by John Mellencamp, released under the stage name John Cougar in 1982. This was Mellencamp's last album to be released under the name John Cougar. His next album, Uh-Huh, would be released under the name John Cougar Mellencamp. The album was Mellencamp's commercial...

, which launched the hits "Hurts So Good

Hurts So Good

"Hurts So Good" is a song from 1982 by the American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, then performing as John Cougar. The song was a number two hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for the singer. It was the first of three major hit singles from his 1982 album American Fool...

" and "Jack and Diane

Jack and Diane

"Jack & Diane" is a 1982 hit song written and performed by American singer-songwriter, John Mellencamp, then performing as "John Cougar". It appears on Mellencamp's album American Fool. It was chosen by RIAA as one of the Songs of the Century...

." The album's success earned Gehman a Grammy nomination, and began an extended collaboration between the two, which included 1983's Uh-Huh

Uh-Huh

Uh-Huh is an 1983 album by John Cougar Mellencamp, a stage name for John Mellencamp. It was Mellencamp's seventh album and the first in which he used his real last name. It charted at #9 on the Billboard 200....

, 1985's Scarecrow

Scarecrow (John Mellencamp album)

Scarecrow is the eighth album by John Mellencamp. Released in August 1985 by Mercury Records, it peaked at #2 on the U.S. charts. It was remastered and reissued on Mercury Records on May 24, 2005, with one bonus track....

and 1987's The Lonesome Jubilee

The Lonesome Jubilee

The Lonesome Jubilee is the ninth album by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, credited as John Cougar Mellencamp. The album was released by Mercury Records on August 24, 1987 . Four singles were released from the album, the first two in 1987 and the last two in 1988.The album was one of...

, which earned Gehman another Grammy nomination.

Gehman has also produced R.E.M.'s Lifes Rich Pageant

Lifes Rich Pageant

Lifes Rich Pageant is the fourth album by the American band R.E.M., released in 1986. Intended as an upbeat reaction to the sobering and historical Fables of the Reconstruction, R.E.M...

, Hootie and the Blowfish's Fairweather Johnson

Fairweather Johnson

Fairweather Johnson is the second studio album by the band Hootie & the Blowfish, released on April 23, 1996. Three songs from the album were released as singles: "Old Man & Me", "Tucker's Town", and "Sad Caper"...

, Familiar 48's Wonderful Nothing, Cock Robin

Cock Robin (band)

Cock Robin is an American pop rock band, mostly popular in the 1980s, particularly in continental Europe where they became famous. The band was founded by singer-songwriter Peter Kingsbery in 1982, disbanded in 1990, and reformed in 2006.-History:...

's After Here Through Midland

After Here Through Midland

After Here Through Midland is the second album by Cock Robin and was released in 1987.Again it was a big success in continental Europe as their first eponymous album, reaching the Top 10, but was largely ignored in the US where the album reached only #166 in the Billboard 200...

, Jason Michael Carroll

Jason Michael Carroll

Jason Michael Carroll is an American country music artist. After being discovered at a local talent competition in 2004, Carroll was signed to the Arista Nashville label in 2006, releasing his debut album Waitin' in the Country that year...

's Waitin' in the Country

Waitin' in the Country

-Album:-Singles:...

, River City People

River City People

River City People were a folk rock quartet formed in Liverpool, England in 1986, by vocalist Siobhan Maher, guitarist Tim Speed, his drummer brother Paul Speed, and bassist Dave Snell. Siobhan, Tim and Dave had both been with Liverpool Band "Peep Show" until summer 1987 - at one point in both bands...

's Say Something Good, and Blues Traveler's

Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler is a rock band, formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. The band has been influenced by a variety of genres, including blues-rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock, soul, and Southern rock...

 Truth Be Told

Truth Be Told (Blues Traveler album)

Truth Be Told is American jam band Blues Traveler's seventh studio album, released on August 5, 2003 .-Track listing:#"Unable to Get Free" – 4:23#"Eventually " – 3:51...

. He also produced Hunters and Collectors's most successful album, Cut

Cut (Hunters and Collectors album)

Cut is a 1992 album by Australian rock band Hunters & Collectors. Produced by American Don Gehman , it reached No. 6 on the Australian album chart...

, which spawned the Australian rock anthem "Holy Grail

Holy Grail (song)

Holy Grail is a song performed by the Australian band Hunters & Collectors on their 1992 album Cut. With lyrics referring to popular Holy Grail mythology, the song is an anthemic single inspired by Napoleon's march to Russia in 1812, but also referencing the Hunters and Collectors' flagging...

", as well as albums from other Australian artists Jimmy Barnes

Jimmy Barnes

James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...

 and Johnny Diesel

Johnny Diesel

Johnny Diesel is an Australian musician, who has released material as leader of Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, under his birth name, or by the epithet Diesel...

.

External links

• Official site
• Don Gehman on Discogs
  Discogs
  Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
  
  

See also

• List of albums produced by Don Gehman