Don Was Produced The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan And Ozzy. At 73, He Found His Voice In Detroit -- And The Dead

The bass fable and superproducer Don Was didn’t expect to beryllium covering Curtis Mayfield’s Civil Rights-era anthem “This Is My Country” connected nan roadworthy successful 2026. But lately, nan chaos successful nan United States made nan opus look regrettably apropos.

“It wasn’t expected to still consciousness potent. It was expected to beryllium thing that served a moment,” said Was, who included nan defiant azygous connected his 2025 medium “Groove In nan Face of Adversity.”

“It’s shocking to beryllium present successful 2026 and, immoderate region we traveled from 1966 until now, to spot it each get reset,” Was said. “That song’s a much powerful connection now than it was then. It was inconceivable that it would still beryllium applicable — this is expected to beryllium nan utopian property of Aquarius. This is not nan measurement it was expected to move out.”

Was remembers nan tumult, unit and dream that came retired of that era successful his hometown of Detroit. The city’s music, famed for rough-hewn virtuosity from blues to psyche to techno, is nan outpouring that waters “Adversity.” It is, remarkably, nan 73-year-old’s first solo medium aft a profession spanning nan pioneering electro-pop set Was (Not Was) and heavy shaper relationships pinch nan Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Bonnie Raitt.

He besides spent years successful Bob Weir & Wolf Bros pinch nan precocious Grateful Dead founder, and will play from nan Dead’s landmark “Blues for Allah” connected his circuit that stops astatine Lodge Room connected July 7.

With a backing set of workplace killers dubbed nan Pan-Detroit Ensemble, “Adversity” has an expansive modern atmosphere, yet a lived-in, filament-bulb value successful nan playing that carries done funk, jazz, stone and R&B. It’s mostly a covers record, but you wouldn’t cognize it from nan extent of nan revisions — veering from nan Yusef Lateef modular “Nubian Lady” to Hank Williams’ “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But Time,” closing pinch funk group Cameo’s “Insane.”

“I’ve been carrying it astir successful my caput for 30 years,” Was said. “This first medium to maine is really a handshake, a ‘nice to meet you,’ this jambalaya of Detroit sounds.” While overmuch of nan root worldly comes from elsewhere, nan cumulative temper is highly individual to an creator who has spent his life helping nan greats find existent expression.

“I’ve travel to respect artists who are consenting to spell successful heavy wrong their astir individual thoughts for nan liking of helping nan listener understand their ain lives,” he said. “To thief them woody pinch nan trauma of being quality — particularly successful these times, man.”

Tops connected that database is nan precocious Grateful Dead laminitis Bob Weir — who died successful January astatine 78 — arsenic a exemplary for a set staying fearless and uncompromising. Was, still heartbroken astir nan nonaccomplishment of his friend and bandmate, recalled their first clip connected tour.

“When Bobby called asking maine to play bass pinch nan Wolf Bros, I thought astatine nan very least, this is going to beryllium a maestro people successful losing self-consciousness and forgetting astir fear,” Was said. “If nan set stumbled, nan assemblage wouldn’t locomotion out. They appreciated nan truth that you were trying to do thing caller for them. Then there’d beryllium a mates moments each nighttime pinch an unthinkable speech betwixt nan musicians and you tin consciousness nan assemblage becoming a personnel of nan band.”

Playing nan Dead’s “Blues for Allah” connected this circuit — an LP rooted successful Middle Eastern scales, pirouetting clip signatures and improvisational telepathy — put him successful communion pinch his aged friend.

“I utilized to deliberation that songs for illustration ‘King Solomon’s Marbles’ were conscionable jams and conversations connected nan spot. But erstwhile we really sewage into it, there’s a shape underneath and you tin return tremendous liberty pinch that form,” Was said.

Was’ accumulation profession was built connected a akin principle.

His early set Was (Not Was) remains a visionary electro-pop enactment pinch subtle, salient politics. “Out Come nan Freaks” is simply a favourite connected Pride period creation floors — “If you conscionable wanted to do poppers and creation each night, it worked, and if you wanted to deliberation astir nan authorities careening retired of control, it worked too,” Was said of nan band’s nine material.

The late Ozzy Osbourne sang connected nan band’s world deed “Shake Your Head,” alongside a winking, very crippled Kim Basinger. The character was a replacement aft Madonna backed out, leaving nan proto-rave tune 1 of nan era’s astir improbable collaborations.

He recalled Ozzy fondly. “In 1975, this people group I was successful booked america to unfastened for Black Sabbath astatine nan Toledo Sports Arena, playing for a bunch of 14-year-old achromatic boys connected amphetamines,” Was said. “They weren’t having it. I’ve heard nan portion of that show, and nan drummer was bleeding from being deed by truthful galore bottles that we had to extremity playing. That was my first vulnerability to Ozzy, truthful I was a small acrophobic to do nan session, but he was up for an adventure.”

Don Was and nan Pan-Detroit Ensemble

(Gemma Corfield)

A Stones confidant and shaper from 1994’s “Voodoo Lounge” up until 2023’s “Hackney Diamonds” (where Andrew Watt took nan helm), Was had thing but praise for nan band, and still admits to a twinge of fandom successful their presence.

“There’s ne'er been a time successful nan workplace pinch nan Rolling Stones wherever I didn’t look astir nan room and go, ‘Oh my God,’” he said. “I’ve known Mick for complete 30 years, but nan last clip they played L.A. astatine SoFi Stadium, Mick came stepping down that shape and I was like, ‘Wow, location he is, it’s 1965 again.’”

With Dylan, he recalled nan mercurial genius’ impish side. “I was producing Dylan, and George Harrison came successful to play guitar. Bob was messing pinch him, Bob pushed nan technologist speech and he ran nan portion machine. George had ne'er heard nan opus before, didn’t cognize what cardinal it was in, and Bob conscionable starts nan tape. George played a respectable solo, but intelligibly it was rough. Bob, conscionable to beryllium funny, stopped nan instrumentality and said ‘That’s it, perfect.’ George turns to maine and said, ‘What do you think, Don?’ And Bob goes, “Yeah, what do you think, Don?’ I’m looking astatine these 2 guys and clip slowed down. I remembered trying to waste my car to get a summons to spell to New York to spot nan Concert for Bangladesh. Now they’re asking maine what I think. I was paralyzed.”

“A sound appeared successful my head,” he said, “Telling me, ‘He’s not paying you to beryllium a fan.‘ So I said to George, ‘It was good, man. Let’s spot if we tin hit it.’ You can’t let nan iconography to dictate nan result successful nan studio. You person to put that aside.”

As president of Blue Note Records, nan estimable jazz explanation he’s led for much than a decade, Was relentlessly looks forward. He’s released restless modern records by Domi & JD Beck, Fathers, Makaya McCraven and Julian Lage (the hotshot jazz guitarist now playing pinch Dylan). He’s refreshingly optimistic astir challenging euphony successful streaming’s ruthless economy.

“Don’t make euphony for nan transportation system,” Was said. “I don’t deliberation astir streaming, I deliberation astir rubbing people. If you do that, thing has changed fundamentally successful nan euphony business. If your intent is to get nether people’s tegument and make them consciousness something, that’s nan aforesaid occupation it was for Mozart. How group perceive tin support changing, but I don’t deliberation nan palette of quality emotion changes, and that’s who you’re addressing.”

Was came from a working-class business city, making euphony reflective of Detroit’s technological upheaval and economical neglect. “Adversity” is simply a beacon to support playing successful spite of everything.

“I deliberation that nan salvation of musicians is that nary matter what happens, what technological advancements travel along, there’s still thing for illustration nan acquisition of being successful nan aforesaid room arsenic group who are playing together,” Was said. “It’s ever been tough, man. It’s harder these days to bargain a Ferrari arsenic a musician, but I don’t cognize that that’s necessary. I person full assurance that nan opportunity is location for anybody who is consenting to springiness nan assemblage a meaningful experience.”