Daniel Lanois
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Daniel Lanois was born on September 19, 1951, in Hull, Quebec. Born into a musical family (both his father and grandfather were noted fiddlers), Lanois moved with his mother in 1963 to Hamilton, Ont. He began playing music at age nine with the penny whistle, and soon transitioned to pedal steel guitar. Lanois started his production career when he was 17, recording local artists including Simply Saucer with his brother Bob Lanois in a studio in the basement of their mother's home in Ancaster, Ontario. Later, Lanois started Grant Avenue Studio in an old house which he purchased in Hamilton, Ontario. His collaborations at Grant Avenue with the British experimental pop composer Brian Eno (eg, "Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks", 1983) took Lanois's reputation beyond Canada. Eno invited him to co-produce U2's album "The Unforgettable Fire". Along with Eno, he went on to produce U2's "The Joshua Tree", the 1987 Grammy Award for Album of the Year winner. He produced or co-produced albums for a range of artists, including U2, Peter Gabriel, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, and Bob Dylan. His first album, "Acadie" was released in 1989. As well as being a producer, Lanois is a songwriter, musician and recording artist. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2002. On June 1, 2013, Lanois received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. Daniel Lanois's atmospheric production style and his ability to capture emotional performances have made him one of the most influential producers in rock and alternative music.