Robert Lange
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{{Infobox Musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| Name = Robert John Lange
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| Background = non_performing_personnel
| Birth_name =
| Alias = "Mutt" Lange
| Born = {{birth date and age|1948|11|16}}<br /> [[Mufulira]], [[Zambia]]
| Died =
| Origin =
| Instrument = Guitar
| Voice_type = Soprano
| Genre =
| Occupation = [[Music producer]]
| Years_active =
| Label = Atlantic Records
| Associated_acts = [[Shania Twain]], [[Def Leppard]], [[AC/DC]], [[Bryan Adams]]
| URL =
| Current_members =
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'''Robert John "Mutt" Lange''' ({{pronEng|ˈlæŋ}}<ref>See [http://inogolo.com/pronunciation/d1333/Mutt_Lange inogolo:pronunciation of "Mutt" Lange].</ref>) (born [[November 16]], [[1948]]) is a [[record producer]] and [[songwriter]]. He is one of the most successful producers in rock history. He has produced albums for artists such as [[Def Leppard]], [[AC/DC]], [[Foreigner]], [[The Cars]], [[Bryan Adams]], [[Savoy Brown]] and [[The Corrs]]. His current projects are producing for and writing songs with his estranged wife, country singer [[Shania Twain]]. Her 1997 album ''[[Come on Over (Shania Twain album)|Come on Over]]'' which he produced is the best selling record by any female artist of all time{{Fact|date=February 2008}}.
A strict [[vegetarian]] and a follower of [[Sant Mat]], he has not given an interview of any kind for decades, and prefers to live a secluded life, mainly in Switzerland, with Twain and their son, Eja. Lange is responsible for producing some of the most successful and popular records of all time. He is known for his endurance in the studio and innovations in [[multitrack recording]].<ref name="Songfacts">[http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=80 Back In Black Songfacts]. ''[[Songfacts]]''. Retrieved [[July 22]] [[2007]].</ref>
== Biography ==
Robert John Lange was born in [[Mufulira]], [[Northern Rhodesia]] (now [[Zambia]]). His mother came from a prosperous family in [[Germany]], and his [[South Africa]]n born 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 would sing. His marriage to Stevie broke down in the 1970s, although they still remain close friends, and Stevie is indebted to Mutt for how he helped mature her voice.
In 1978, Lange wrote and produced [[Ipswich Town F.C.|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 the UK #1 "[[I Don't Like Mondays]]", and [[AC/DC]]'s [[hard rock]] album ''[[Highway to Hell (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 [[List of best-selling albums|second-best selling album of all time]]. He also worked with 1980s hard-rock group [[Foreigner (band)|Foreigner]], and with [[Def Leppard]] on their hit albums, ''[[High 'n' Dry]]'', ''[[Pyromania (album)|Pyromania]]'', ''[[Hysteria (album)|Hysteria]]'' and ''[[Adrenalize]]'' co-writing most of the songs.
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. <ref>[http://www.robertjohnmuttlange.com/ Mutt Lange<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> He would return to work with them years later in a more limited role in 1999, producing three tracks for their album "[[Euphoria (Def Leppard album)|Euphoria]]". One of these songs, "[[Promises (Def Leppard song)|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]]''.
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]]. Lange is strictly a [[Teetotalism|tee-totaller]], but as a treat, they had non-alcoholic [[Champagne (wine)|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.
He produced the single "[[Make You]]" from the album [[Great Escape (album)|''Great Escape'']] by Irish singer [[Tara Blaise]] which was released in May 2008.
On May 15, 2008, a spokesperson for Mercury Nashville announced that Twain and Lange were separating.<ref>[http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1587557/shania-twain-mutt-lange-separating-after-14-years.jhtml Shania Twain, Mutt Lange Separating After 14 Years]</ref>
== 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 (band)|Supercharge]] – ''Local Lads Make Good'', 1976
*City Boy – ''Young Men Gone West'', 1977
*[[Clover (band)|Clover]] – ''Love On The Wire'', 1977
*Clover – ''Unavailable'', 1977
*[[Supercharge (band)|Supercharge]] – ''Horizontal Refreshment'', 1977
*[[The Boomtown Rats]] – ''[[The Boomtown Rats (album)|The Boomtown Rats]]'', 1977
*[[The Rumour]] – ''[[Max (album)|Max]]'', 1977
*[[Savoy Brown]] - ''Savage Return'', 1978
*City Boy – ''Book Early'', 1978
*[[The Outlaws]] – ''[[Playin' to Win]]'', 1978
*The Boomtown Rats – ''[[A Tonic For The Troops (album)|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 (album)|The Fine Art of Surfacing]]'', 1979
*[[AC/DC]] – ''[[Highway to Hell (album)|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 (band)|Foreigner]] – ''[[4 (Foreigner album)|4]]'', 1981
*Def Leppard – ''[[Pyromania (album)|Pyromania]]'', 1983
*[[The Cars]] – ''[[Heartbeat City]]'', 1984
*Loverboy – ''[[Lovin' Every Minute of It (album)|Lovin' Every Minute of It]]'', 1986
*Def Leppard – ''[[Hysteria (album)|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 (album)|The One Thing]]'', 1993
*[[Stevie Vann]] – ''Stevie Vann'', 1995
*Bryan Adams – ''[[18 'Til I Die]]'', 1996
*[[Shania Twain]] – ''[[The Woman in Me (Shania Twain album)|The Woman in Me]]'', 1995
*Shania Twain – ''[[Come on Over (Shania Twain album)|Come on Over]]'', 1997
*[[Corrs|The Corrs]] – ''[[In Blue]]'', 2000
*Shania Twain – ''[[Up! (album)|Up!]]'', 2002
*Shania Twain – ''[[Greatest Hits (Shania Twain album)|Greatest Hits]]'', 2004
==== Produced album tracks ====
Albums on which Lange produced at least one track:
* Stephen – ''Right On Running Man'', 1974/5
* [[Huey Lewis and the News]] - "Do You Believe in Love", ''Picture This'', 1982
* [[Billy Ocean]] – ''Suddenly'', 1984
* [[Billy Ocean]] – ''Love Zone'', 1986
* [[Celine Dion]] – ''[[All The Way...A Decade Of Song]]'', 1999
* [[Backstreet Boys]] – ''[[Millennium (Backstreet Boys album)|Millennium]]'', 1999
* [[Celine Dion]] – ''[[A New Day Has Come (album)|A New Day Has Come]]'', 2002
* [[Bryan Adams]] – ''[[Room Service (Bryan Adams album)|Room Service]]'', 2004
* [[Tara Blaise]] - [[Great Escape (album)|''Great Escape'']] ("[[Make You]]"), 2008
==== Album tracks ''written or co-written''====
* [[Jessica Andrews]] – "I'll Take Your Heart" from ''[[Heart Shaped World (album)|Heart Shaped World]]'', 1999
* [[Backstreet Boys]] - "It's Gotta Be You" from ''[[Millennium (Backstreet Boys album)|Millennium]]'', 1999
* [[Blackhawk (band)|Blackhawk]] – "I'm Not Strong Enough To Say No" from ''[[Strong Enough (Blackhawk album)|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 (Bonnie Tyler album)]]'', 1992.
* [[Britney Spears]] – "[[Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know]]" from ''[[Oops!… I Did It Again]]'', 2000
* [[Diamond Rio]] – "I Thought I'd Seen Everything" from ''[[Unbelievable (Diamond Rio album)|Unbelievable]]'', 1998
* [[Emerson Drive]] - "[[Only God (Could Stop Me Loving You)]]" from ''[[Emerson Drive (album)|Emerson Drive]]'', 2002
* [[Jefferson Airplane|Starship]] – "I Didn't Mean To Stay All Night" from ''[[Love Among The Cannibals]]'', 1989
* [[Heart (band)|Heart]] – "Wild Child" and "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You" from ''[[Brigade (album)|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 (album)|Picture This]]'', 1982
* Huey Lewis and the News – "It Hit Me Like a Hammer" from ''[[Hard at Play]]'', 1991
* [[Lonestar]] - "You Walked In" from ''Crazy Nights'', 1997
* [[Loverboy]] - "[[Lovin' Every Minute of It (song)|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 (album)|Right Here]]'', 1991
* [[PJ Powers]] – "(Let That) River Roll" from ''[[Thandeka Talk To Me (album)|Thandeka Talk To Me]]'', 2001
* [[Chrissy Steele]] – "I Cry Myself To Sleep At Night" from ''Magnet To Steele'', 1991
* [[Steps (group)|Steps]] – "Stay With Me Tonight" (recorded as "Stay With Me") from ''[[Step One]]'', 1998
* [[Lari White]] - "[[Only God (Could Stop Me Loving You)]]" from ''[[Stepping Stone (album)|Stepping Stone]]'', 1999 (duet w/ [[Toby Keith]])
* [[The Corrs]] - "Breathless" from ''[[In Blue]]''
* [[The Corrs]] - "All the Love in the World" from ''In Blue''
* [[The Corrs]] - "Irresistible" from ''In Blue''
==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 (song)|Come on Over]]" - Best Country Song
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links ==
* [http://theoscarsite.com/whoswho7/lange_r.htm Biography]
{{AC/DC}}
{{Def Leppard}}
{{Bryan Adams}}
{{Shania Twain}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lange, Robert "Mutt"}}
[[Category:British record producers]]
[[Category:British songwriters]]
[[Category:British vegetarians]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:British people of German descent]]
[[Category:British people of South African descent]]
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