Biography
An unlikely recording and production duo, childhood friends David Was (David Weiss, 26 October 1952, Detroit, Michigan, USA; saxophone, flute, keyboards, vocals) and Don Was (b. Don Fagenson, 13 September 1952, Detroit, Michigan, USA; bass, keyboards, guitar) used a variety of vocalists to front their records, including regulars ‘Sweet’ Pea Atkinson, Sir Harry Bowens, and Donald Ray Mitchell. The duo’s ability to produce seamless records from the merging of unlikely source material and collaborators became a keynote in their subsequent career. Their excellent 1981 debut album sought to imbue dance music with an intellectual credibility that it had previously lacked. While musicians were plucked from sources as varied as P-funk and MC5, ‘Tell Me That I’m Dreaming’ incorporated a mutilated sample of a Ronald Reagan speech. 1983’s Born To Laugh At Tornadoes included, bizarrely, Ozzy Osbourne rapping, and guest vocals from Mitch Ryder...
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