Don Gehman

Who is Don Gehman?

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

Gehman grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 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, Loggins & Messina, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chicago, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, before transitioning to studio work on the advice of Stephen Stills. He earned his first production credit on Stills' 1976 solo album Illegal Stills.

Gehman's affiliation with Mellencamp began in 1980, when he engineered the singer's self-titled fourth LP. Two years later, he produced Mellencamp's American Fool, which launched the hits "Hurts So Good" and "Jack and Diane." The album's success earned Gehman a Grammy nomination, and began an extended collaboration between the two, which included 1983's Uh-Huh, 1985's Scarecrow and 1987's The Lonesome Jubilee, which earned Gehman another Grammy nomination.

Gehman has also produced R.E.M.'s Lifes Rich Pageant, Hootie and the Blowfish's Fairweather Johnson, Familiar 48's Wonderful Nothing, Cock Robin's After Here Through Midland, Jason Michael Carroll's Waitin' in the Country, River City People's Say Something Good, and Blues Traveler's Truth Be Told. He also produced Hunters and Collectors's most successful album, Cut, which spawned the Australian rock anthem "Holy Grail", as well as albums from other Australian artists Jimmy Barnes and Johnny Diesel.