John Shanks

Co-producer and co-writer of six tracks on Lost Highway, continuing his collaboration from the band's previous album.

John Shanks co-produced Bon Jovi's tenth studio album, Lost Highway, alongside Dann Huff. He produced six songs on the album and also co-wrote the tracks 'Lost Highway', 'Summertime', 'Whole Lot of Leavin'', 'Everybody's Broken', 'The Last Night', and 'One Step Closer'. Those songs were recorded at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles and Starstruck Studios in Nashville, engineered by Jeff Rothschild. Shanks had previously co-produced the band's previous album, Have a Nice Day (2005).

Last updated 2026-09-29 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Birth name

John Matthew Shanks

Born

18 December 1964

Birthplace

New York City, U.S.

Origin

Los Angeles County, California, U.S.

Genre

Rock
alternative rock
country rock
pop rock

Occupation

Songwriter
record producer
musician

Instruments

Guitar

Years active

1988–present

Facts from the source article.

Lore & Background

Shanks co-produced six of the twelve songs on Lost Highway. The songs he produced and co-wrote were recorded at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles and Starstruck Studios in Nashville, with engineering by Jeff Rothschild. The other six songs on the album were produced by Dann Huff and engineered by Justin Niebank and Mark Hagen. After the album was recorded, Jon Bon Jovi wasn't satisfied with the mix because it didn't have dynamics and range, so he decided it needed to be re-mixed.

Reader's Guide

John Shanks co-produced Bon Jovi's tenth studio album, Lost Highway, released on June 19, 2007, in the US through Island Records. The album was recorded at Black Bird Studios in Nashville and NGR Recording in Hollywood. Shanks produced six songs and co-wrote them as well. He had previously co-produced the band's 2005 album, Have a Nice Day. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming Bon Jovi's first ever album to debut at No. 1 and their third album to reach that position in the United States. It was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards.

Career

Shanks began playing in Melissa Etheridge's band in 1988 and toured with her for several years. His first writing success came in the early 1990s with tracks for Bonnie Raitt, Joe Cocker, and Tuck & Patti, and he secured his first publishing deal. He reunited with Etheridge in 1995 to collaborate on songs for Your Little Secret, later co-producing her 1999 album Breakdown, which earned four Grammy nominations. In 2001, he produced tracks for Stevie Nicks' Trouble in Shangri-La and co-wrote the single "Every Day." That year, he began working with Michelle Branch, co-writing four songs for The Spirit Room, including "Everywhere," and producing the album. He also co-wrote Sheryl Crow's "Steve McQueen." Shanks worked with Take That on their comeback album Beautiful World in 2005 and produced The Circus in 2008. He produced Ashlee Simpson's Autobiography (2004), co-writing ten of its twelve songs, and produced three songs for Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway, including the title track. He won the Grammy for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2005. He produced Bon Jovi's albums Have a Nice Day (2005), Lost Highway (2007), The Circle (2009), and What About Now (2013). In 2011, he began work with Van Halen on A Different Kind of Truth, released in 2012. He also produced Westlife's Gravity and Greatest Hits, and the charity single "Everybody Hurts" for Helping Haiti.