John Matthew Shanks (born December 18, 1964) is an American songwriter, record producer and guitarist.[1]
Early life and education
Shanks was born in New York City and moved to Los Angeles when he was 17 years old.[2] He was in a band called Line One with jazz saxophonist Boney James.[3]
Career
Shanks began playing in Melissa Etheridge's band in 1988 and toured with her for several years.[4] Shanks enjoyed his first writing success in the early 1990s with tracks for Bonnie Raitt, Joe Cocker and Tuck & Patti. He also landed his first publishing deal.[5]
Shanks reunited with Etheridge in 1995 when he collaborated with her on songs for Your Little Secret.[6] He worked with her for several years and co-produced her subsequent album, Breakdown, in 1999.[7]Breakdown received four Grammy nominations, including Best Rock Song and Best Rock Album.[8]
In January 2001, Shanks began working with Michelle Branch. Together, they wrote four songs for the hit album The Spirit Room, including the first single, "Everywhere". He also produced the album.[9] In the fall of the same year, Shanks co-wrote Sheryl Crow's single, "Steve McQueen".[10]
Shanks won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2005 for his work on Autobiography, the Kelly Clarkson song "Breakaway", Hilary Duff's "Fly", Robbie Robertson's "Shine Your Light" and Alanis Morissette's album So-Called Chaos.[15]Clive Davis described Shanks as “the father of that guitar-driven kind of pop sound”, as his work with Branch, Clarkson, Duff and Simpson employed many acoustic guitars in contrast to the synthesizer-heavy sound of the pop music of the period.[16]
In 2005, Shanks regrouped with Ashlee Simpson, producing her second album, I Am Me, and co-writing all of its eleven songs with Simpson and DioGuardi.[citation needed] Shanks also worked on two major albums of 2005, the Backstreet Boys' Never Gone and Bon Jovi's ninth album, Have a Nice Day. In 2007, Shanks also worked to produce the Bon Jovi's tenth album, Lost Highway, and in 2009 he also worked and produced on Bon Jovi's eleventh album, The Circle.[17]
In 2010 and 2011, Shanks collaborated with Irish vocal group Westlife with their albums Gravity and Greatest Hits where it charted at the top of UK and Irish Albums Charts. He also produced (with Steve Robson), Everybody Hurts a charity single for Helping Haiti.
In January 2011, Shanks stated that he began work with rock band Van Halen on its first album with original lead singer David Lee Roth since the landmark LP 1984 (1984).[citation needed] Released in February 2012, Van Halen's A Different Kind of Truth debuted at #2 in the United States, and in the Top 10 on five continents. In 2013, Shanks produced Bon Jovi's twelfth album, What About Now.[citation needed]
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