Pour Some Sugar on Me Edition Part 2

Summary

Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia

Episode: Pour Some Sugar on Me Edition Part 2
Host: Chris Molanphy (Slate Podcasts)
Date: November 28, 2025

---

Episode Overview

In this episode, Chris Molanphy continues chronicling the extraordinary career of producer and songwriter Robert John "Mutt" Lange, focusing on his chart-dominating collaborations from the mid-1980s through the 2000s. The episode explores how Mutt Lange's studio innovations, personal relationships, and cross-genre ambitions transformed the sound and commercial fortunes of acts like Def Leppard, Billy Ocean, Bryan Adams, and Shania Twain—ultimately reshaping pop, rock, and country music for a generation.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Def Leppard’s Hysteria: Triumph Over Tragedy

[01:40–12:21]

• Hysteria’s Cursed Beginnings
  After the landmark "Pyromania," Def Leppard struggled with production setbacks—Mutt Lange initially declined to produce, and failed sessions with Jim Steinman followed.
• Rick Allen’s Accident
  • On New Year’s Eve 1984, drummer Rick Allen lost his arm in a car accident.
  • Mutt Lange played a key role in convincing Allen and the band he could drum again:

    “He could actually play the drums by repeating the sounds on the top and the bottom... I could actually see almost a light shine in his eyes...”
    —Mutt Lange ([05:09])

• Meticulous Studio Work
  Mutt’s perfectionism stretched the album’s recording over two years; vocals were often recorded “syllable by syllable.”
• Aiming for a 'Hard Rock Thriller'
  As Molanphy notes, Lange wanted “more than half the album could be singles” ([06:08]).
• Hysteria’s Chart Ascension
  • A rocky start with underwhelming singles, but singles like “Animal,” “Hysteria,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Love Bites,” and “Armageddon It” each climbed higher, peaking with the #1 “Love Bites.”
• Legacy
  “To this day, no hard rock or heavy metal album has spawned as many hit songs as Hysteria.” ([12:21])
  12 million US sales, 25 million globally.

2. Mutt Goes Pop: Billy Ocean’s Chart-Topping Reinvention

[12:21–17:28]

• "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car"
  Lange’s songwriting and production led to Billy Ocean’s monster #1 hit in 1988, which also topped the R&B charts—a first and only for Mutt.

  “Who would have guessed the artist to take Mutt to the top of the singles charts would be Billy Ocean?”
  ([12:21])

• Controversy in the UK
  The BBC edited the track over concerns about suggestive lyrics ([16:26]).

3. Song Doctor for Hire: Hits Throughout the Early '90s

[17:28–19:13]

• Wrote/produced singles for Heart (“All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You”), Huey Lewis & the News (“It Hit Me Like a Hammer”), and Michael Bolton (“Said I Loved You...But I Lied”).
• Set the groundwork for a major rock/pop reinvention with Bryan Adams.

4. Career Renaissance: Bryan Adams and Blockbuster Ballads

[19:13–24:39]

• Everything I Do…
  Adams and Lange’s soundtrack ballad “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” became a worldwide smash, setting UK chart records:

  “Billboard later named it 1991’s top song and in the UK it spent a staggering 16 weeks at number one...” ([20:58])

• Waking Up the Neighbors
  Produced another multi-hit album, including “Can’t Stop This Thing We Started” (#2 Hot 100, [22:54]).
• The King of Soundtracks
  Lange co-produced “All for Love” (Adams/Stewart/Sting) and “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?”—all major #1s.

5. Mutt Goes Country: Shania Twain’s Revolutionary Crossover

[26:02–43:13]

• Meeting & Marriage
  Lange met Twain in 1993 and quickly became both her producer and husband.
• Country-Pop Alchemy
  • “Any Man of Mine” (1995) marked Twain’s first #1 hit, launching the phenomenon of stadium-sized “pop feminism.”
  • “Listeners noticed Shania Twain’s hits didn’t sound like anything else on country radio.” ([29:00])
• Come On Over: Genre-Defying Success
  • “You’re Still the One” (1998) referenced their real-life partnership and became a wedding perennial

    “Looks like we made it… Look how far we’ve come.” ([37:00])

  • The album exploded globally, selling 40 million copies and spawning multiple international hits (“From This Moment On,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” and the enduring “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”).
  • “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” is Twain’s most-streamed song and “arguably Shania’s most Mutt-like anthem.” ([38:41])
• Up! and the End of an Era
  Their 2002 album attempted ambitious triple-genre packaging but marked the final Lange-Twain collaboration after their tumultuous personal split.

6. Producer for the New Millennium: Mutt’s Next Chapters

[46:59–54:55]

• Worked with Backstreet Boys (“It’s Gotta Be You” [1999]), Britney Spears (“Don’t Let Me Be The Last To Know” [2000]), and the Corrs (“Breathless”).
• Influenced later generations of country (Lone Star, Carrie Underwood) and rock, including latter-day Def Leppard (“Promises”), Nickelback (“Something in Your Mouth”; 2008), and Maroon 5 (“Misery”; 2010).
• Produced Muse’s “Drones” (2015) and Lady Gaga’s “You and I” (2011) demonstrating continued relevance.

  “In 2015, deep into his 60s, Mutt Lange produced the top alt rock hit...” ([51:30])

7. Personal Legacies and Long Shadows

[54:55–56:50]

• Shania Twain, despite their dramatic split, found the courage to perform “You’re Still the One” live again, illustrating the durability of their music.

  “Despite their traumatic breakup, Twain… had even found the fortitude to begin performing their biggest and most romantic hit, ‘You’re Still the One,’ live once again.” ([55:46])

• Twain covered an AC/DC classic once produced by Mutt, symbolizing mutual legacies.
• Mutt continues to influence—and occasionally emerge from “Swiss hideaway” to co-write and co-produce.

---

Notable Quotes

• On Rick Allen's Recovery:
  “I could actually see almost a light shine in his eyes… he thought, yeah, that's actually the one way out of it.”
  —Mutt Lange ([05:13])

• On Hysteria’s Ambition:
  “Basically, the band were trying to make what Mutt called ‘the Thriller of hard rock.’ ”
  —Chris Molanphy ([06:08])

• On Shania Twain’s Pop Breakthrough:
  “Listeners noticed Shania Twain's hits didn't sound like anything else on country radio… They were stadium country songs even before Shania was ready to play stadium.”
  —Chris Molanphy ([29:00])

• On Global Crossover:
  “It turned the Come On Over album into a global blockbuster… it also established Shania Twain, a decade before Taylor Swift, as a legitimate crossover country-to-pop star.”
  —Chris Molanphy ([38:18])

• On Artistic Legacy:
  “That’s Robert John Mutt Lange’s legacy. Maybe he couldn’t keep his own relationships together, but he’s done plenty to keep generations of pop fans rocking together all night long.”
  —Chris Molanphy ([56:50])

---

Important Timestamps

• Def Leppard, Rick Allen’s Accident: [04:00–06:08]
• Hysteria’s Single Rollout: [08:24–12:21]
• Billy Ocean’s #1 Hit: [16:22–17:28]
• Bryan Adams’ Chart Dominance: [19:13–22:54]
• Shania Twain Partnership Begins: [26:02–29:00]
• “You’re Still the One” and Pop Crossover: [36:30–38:41]
• Twain & Lange Divorce/Aftermath: [43:13]
• Producer for New Generations: [46:59–54:55]
• Shania Twain Revisiting “You’re Still the One” Live: [55:46]

---

Memorable Moments

• The “Hard Rock Thriller” Ambition:
  Mutt’s bold goal for Def Leppard’s "Hysteria" album paid off, making it arguably the most hit-packed rock album ever ([06:08], [12:21]).

• Transcending Genres & Borders:
  Lange’s impact is underlined by successes with Billy Ocean, Bryan Adams, Shania Twain, and even late-career pop and rock acts—demonstrating a talent for reinvention and anthemic crossover.

• Personal & Professional Highs and Lows:
  The dramatic twist of Lange’s divorce from Twain, and her subsequent resilience, add a human layer to his technical mastery ([43:13], [55:46]).

---

Podcast Style & Tone

Chris Molanphy’s style is witty, encyclopedic, and affectionate toward both the music and its occasional eccentricity. He peppers the show with sharp, occasionally cheeky asides (“the dreaded Bon Jovi…”, “this sassiness played in the media and on the radio as ‘pop feminism’ ”) while grounding his commentary in meticulous chart analysis and historical context.

---

Conclusion

This episode of Hit Parade delivers a compelling journey through Mutt Lange’s multi-decade domination of the charts, highlighting the human stories, technical prowess, and genre-defying ambition that made him one of music’s most influential and mysterious hitmakers. Whether navigating personal tragedy, perfecting the stadium anthem, or pioneering pop-country crossovers with Shania Twain, Mutt Lange remains the architect behind countless classics—and, as Chris Molanphy reminds us, a force still capable of surprising the pop world.

Transcript

[Chris Melanfi]

Hey there Hit Parade listeners. Soon enough it'll be the holiday season, and if you're a music geek like me, you'll know it's time to start shopping when your radio station or streaming service is chock a block with all those merry tunes. This year, if you want to give a fellow music lover the gift of songs, albums and more, you need Apple Gift Card. They can use it for an Apple music subscription, that music dock they've been eyeing on the Apple TV app, or or even a new pair of AirPods. It's a guaranteed chart topper. Visit applegiftcard.apple.com to learn more and gift one today.

[Sponsor/Advertiser Voice]

Still looking for a natural way to relieve aches and discomfort? Introducing Kornbread Hemp's CBD Gummies Kornbread Hemp's CBD Gummies are made to help you feel better, whether it's stress, discomfort or just needing a little relaxation. They only use the best part of the hemp plant, the flower for the purest and most potent cbd. Formulated to help relieve discomfort, stress and sleeplessness, all products are third party, lab tested and USDA organic to ensure safety and purity. Right now, Hit Parade listeners can save 30% on their first order. Just head to cornbreadhemp.com hitparade and use code hitparade at checkout. That's cornbreadhemp.com hitParade and use code hitParade.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Foreign.

[Chris Melanfi]

Welcome back to Hit Parade, a podcast of pop chart history from Slate magazine about the hits from coast to coast. I'm Chris Melanfi, chart analyst, pop critic and writer of Slate's why Is this Song Number One series. On our last episode, we introduced you to prolific producer and songwriter Robert John Lang, better known by his nickname Mutt Lang. Raised in South Africa, nurtured in the British recording industry, Mutt emerged as a top producer at the start of the 1980s with a detailed, meticulous method for crafting fist pumping anthems. From ACDC to Foreigner, Def Leppard to Billy Ocean, we're now in the mid-80s, and Mutt is about to embark upon an even more complex Def Leppard LP before making an improbable pivot to country music by the 90s. Def Leppard's fourth album seemed cursed from the start. Mutt Lang did help the band start writing its songs in 1984, just after their Pyromania album Down, but he declined to produce the LP, citing his exhaustion after producing the car's heartbeat city. So for the rest of 84, the band tried Other production arrangements, including producing themselves with the assistance of engineers, and even working with Jim Steinman, the famed Meatloaf producer we covered in his own Hit Parade episode. Jim Steinman and Def Leppard did not see eye to eye. He wanted the album to have a live band feel, while the band was aiming for an even more extravagant sound than Pyromania. They parted ways after about six weeks. By the end of 84, Leopard had been working all year with not much to show for it. Then things took a much darker turn on New Year's Eve 1984, when drummer Rick Allen crashed his Corvette a few miles west of Sheffield, England, and severed his arm. Doctors tried to reattach the limb, but due to infection, they were forced to amputate. Rick Allen instantly became the world's most famous one armed drummer. A dubious notion. The idea of Alan continuing with Def Leppard seemed almost fantastical. But the person who convinced Rick Allen and the rest of the band it could be done was Mutt Lang, who had stayed in touch with all of them. Here is Mutt himself, some rare audio in his own voice, speaking for the aforementioned BBC documentary.

[Mutt Lange (Robert John Lange)]

When I arrived at the hospital, he was actually. I could see that he was really down. I mean, he was. He was trying to keep a pretty brave face, but he was prostrate, I mean, really prostrate at that point, not knowing which limbs were going to work at all. And then I just mentioned to him that he could, conceivably, if he could get his right hand to work again, he could actually play the drums by repeating the sounds on the top and the bottom. And then as he lay there, he started just doing that thing with his limbs. And I could actually see almost a light shine in his eyes in terms of that. He thought, yeah, that's actually the one way out of it. And literally from that day on, in my perception, the few times I saw him, he had a cause. And then I actually mentioned it to the band and I said to Peter Manchin, I said, Rick really could play. It's just going to take time. We were going to record the album, so he had a lot of recuperative time. And of course, nobody was discounting that, but in the back of everyone's minds, they weren't quite ready to believe it.

[Chris Melanfi]

By 1985, not only was Rick Allen still in Def Leppard, Mutt Lang was back in the fold as well, having enjoyed his break and rescuing the album from its string of failed producers. But the LP would take another two years to complete. Delayed not only by Rick's rehabilitation, but by Mutts own perfectionism. He and Joe Elliot would record vocals literally syllable by syllable. Basically, the band were trying to make what Mutt called the thriller of hard rock. More than half the album could be singles and writing these would be hits was not easy. One song, Animal, took Mutt and the band nearly three years of trial and error to.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

And I Need.

[Chris Melanfi]

In the middle of all that labor, drummer Rick Allen conceived of the album's title, Hysteria. Not just a logical follow up to Pyromania, but also a reference to all the crazy making trials the LP had put them through. After spending $5 million to record hysteria, an unheard of some back then, the album finally arrived in the summer of 1987. In the four years Def Leppard had been gone, so called hair metal had blown up. And many hair metal hits sounded like they could have been Mutt Lang's handiwork from the dreaded Bon Jovi, whose explosive choruses were very Mutt like Shot through.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

The Heart and you're to blame you.

[Chris Melanfi]

To White Snake, a veteran British band who like acdc, had rebooted themselves for this new era of hair metal. So Death Leopard should have been welcomed back with open arms. But Hysteria was almost sunk out of the box by a poor choice of first single. In a bid to re establish Def Leppard's credibility with their dude rock fanbase, the label chose the lecherous Women as the lead off track. Though it did make the top 10 on Billboard's album rock chart. Women stalled on the Hot 100 at number 80 and the Hysteria album had a somewhat soft launch. The LP rose into the top five briefly, then fell back and knocked in and out of the top 10 for the next nine months. But that's when Mutt Lang's instincts began to pay off. Hysteria was indeed packed with potential singles and it spun off more Hot 100 hits than any hard rock band had ever seen. Starting with Animal, which cracked the top 40 at number 19 in late 87, each single from def Leppard's hysteria rose higher than the one preceding it. Next, the album's title track, as we mentioned at the top of our show, climbed into the top 10 in the spring. For the fourth single, Def Leppard went with a song they wrote as an homage to both Queen's We Will Rock youk and Run DMC's Walk this Way, the lighter waving, tongue twisting anthem Pour Some Sugar on Me, which reached number two in the summer of 88.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Come and get it on living like a lover with a red iPhone Looking like a tramp Like a video Bam. Demolition woman Can I be a meal man?

[Chris Melanfi]

The week Pour Some Sugar reached its hot 100 peak, the hysteria album rose to the top of the album chart. Def Leppard's first number one lp. Nearly a year after the album came.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Out.

[Chris Melanfi]

And the hits just kept coming. The fifth single, written largely by Mutt Lang, was a heartbreak song that sounded like country music when Lange first brought it to the band. By the time Def Leppard and Mutt transformed it, the song was a metallic melodramatic power ballad called Love.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Love Bites Love Beats.

[Chris Melanfi]

In early October 1988, Love Bites went all the way to the top of the Hot 100, becoming Def Leppard's first and only number one song. The Hysteria album was now septuple platinum and it wasn't done spinning off hits. Next Armageddon it a nonsensical but very catchy bop, reach number three. And finally, in the spring of nineteen nineteen eighty nine, more than a year and a half after Hysteria arrived, the album spun off its last hit when Rock it peaked at number 12. To this day, no hard rock or heavy metal album has spawned as many hit songs as Hysteria. And with total US sales of 12 million and global sales of 25 million, it's one of the best selling rock albums period of all time. Mutt Lang's vision of a hard rock thriller essentially came T.R. A side note about Mutt Lang's run of hits with Def Leppard, though he did take the band to number one with Love Bites. Funnily enough, that was not Mutt's first Hot 100 chart topper. Five months earlier, in April of 1988, a song produced and co written by Lange hit number one for the first time and it topped Both the Hot 100 and Billboard's R&B chart. Who would have guessed the artist to take Mutt to the top of the singles charts would be Billy Ocean. Get Out Of My Dreams, Get Into My Car was mostly Mutt's idea. He brought it to Billy Ocean a couple of years after their success with Loverboy. And when the going gets Tough, the tough get going. It was partially based on the hook of a song Mutt had previously written for the soundtrack to the 1984 movie Teachers, a forgotten track by the British new wave rock band Roman Holiday called One Foot Back in youn Door. Mutt took that pre chorus lyric I'm youm Non Stop Miracle, I'm youm Man and fused it with the funky stylings of the Isley brothers. 1973 Top 10 hit that lady, And the result was a positively infectious dance floor bop for Billy Ocean.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Get into my Car.

[Chris Melanfi]

In England, that song title raised some hackles. The BBC was concerned that get out of my dreams, get into my Car would sound like a potential sexual come on for Johns or pedophiles, so Ocean had to record an edited version with fewer grunts. In America, it aired in its original form. I guess you can file Mutt Lang's unwitting lyrical sensibilities alongside Max Martin's Hit Me baby one more time. Nonetheless, get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car was a number three UK hit and again a double number one in America. Mutts first pop chart topper and his only R B number one.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

I'm your man. Get out of my dreams.

[Chris Melanfi]

Indeed. Once Mutt Lang got the Def Leppard album out of his system, he went back to serving as a gun for hire songwriter through the late 80s and early 90s. Some hits in this period you may not have known were Mutt compositions. Include Hart's horny telenovela All I Wanna do is Make Love to Youo, a number two hit in 1990, Huey Lewis and the news, 1991 bop it hit Me Like a Hammer, one of that band's last top 40 hits, don't you.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Know It Hit Me Like a Hammer.

[Chris Melanfi]

And Michael Bolton's sultry ballad Said I loved you But I Lied, a 1993 single that reached number six. In addition to all of these ones one offs, Mutt Lang had also found another rock act he could reboot the way he had Foreigner, ACDC and the Cars. This Canadian soloist had scored plenty of hits in the 80s, but he needed mutt for a 90s reinvention.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Better leave it alone in the Heat of.

[Chris Melanfi]

Brian Adams, after his 1987 album underperformed on the charts, this song, Heat of the night, was the LP's only top 10 hit reached out to Mutt Lang to produce his next album. They began work on the album in 1990 and were most of the way through it when the producers of the 1991 Kevin Costner film Robin Prince of Thieves, asked Adams if he'd be willing to help score composer Michael Kamen turn a melody from the film into a pop song. Brian and Mutt paused work on their album, teamed up with Cayman and wrote a song that wound up the biggest hit any of them had ever produced. Everything I Do, I Do it for you spent seven weeks at number one in America in the summer of 91. Billboard later named it 1991's top song and in the UK it spent a staggering 16 weeks at number one, resetting the slim Whitman record I mentioned earlier in our show.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

You know it's true Everything I do I do it for you oh yeah.

[Chris Melanfi]

After everything I do Bryan Adams and Mutt Lang went back to complete Adams's album. Only now they had the wind at their backs in 1991, with grunge and gangsta rap taking over the radio. You would not have expected a Bryan Adams album to be deep in the current pop conversation. But suddenly the husky voiced Canadian who'd brought you earnest 80s hits like Straight from the Heart, Heaven and Summer of 69 found himself a serious hit maker again. It helped that Mutt made his album gleam like a skyscraper.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Now Baby I can't red you got.

[Chris Melanfi]

To know it's right Can't Stop this Thing We Started was the first official single from the 1991 Brian Adams album Waking up the Neighbors. Unofficially, the album was led by Everything I Do, I do it for you which was included on the CD and helped the album debut on the album chart within the top 10. Adams first album to open that high, Waking up the Neighbors would eventually be certified quadruple platinum and it generated five top 40 hits, including Can't Stop this Thing We Started, which featured an anthemic muttlang chorus and reached number two on the Hot 100 by November.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Oh it's such a strong wave let's make it our way now Baby I can't stop this thing we started that.

[Chris Melanfi]

Number two peak made Can't Stop this Thing, Bryan Adams's highest charting single not connected to a soundtrack. Which is an important caveat because for the rest of the 90s the Bryan Adams became the king of soundtracks, scoring hit after hit from movies. And Mutt Lang worked on all of them. That included the Schlocky Trio single we talked about in last month's hit parade episode on Sting. The Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and sting single from 1993's The Three Musketeers. The three week number one hit all for Love. Also the 1995 Brian Adams smash from the Johnny Depp film Don Juan DeMarco, the Fabio like flamenco flavored ballad have you ever really loved a woman? Reportedly it was Mutt's idea to include in the lyrics the line from the movie about seeing your unborn children in a woman's eyes, which Ew. But it was another number one hit for five weeks in the summer of.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

95 when you can see her unborn children in her eyes, you know you really love a woman.

[Chris Melanfi]

In the years to come, Bryan Adams and Mutt Lang would continue working together off and on, and even generating the occasional hit. But by the time they scored their third and final number one together in 95, Mutt had already pivoted to his next major production project, and this one was both more personal and and bigger than anything he would ever do.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

He went Country Whose bed have your boots been under?

[Chris Melanfi]

We'll be back momentarily.

[Becky Milligan]

It's 1972. A young British family is attempting to sail around the world when Dissolved Master Strikes. Their boat is hit by killer whales and it sinks in seconds. All they have left is a life raft and each other. This is the true story of the Robertson family and their fight to survive. Hosted by me, Becky Milligan. Listen to Adrift, an Apple Original Podcast produced by Blanchard House. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.

[Chris Melanfi]

This episode is brought to you by Saks Fifth Avenue. Saks makes it easy to find the perfect gifts and holiday looks that suit your personal style. The holidays can be a lot of things exciting, relaxing, heartwarming and yes, sometimes even a little stressful. That's why you need Saks.com Saks makes holiday shopping easy, stress free, and most importantly, fun. Whether it's for yourself, your family and friends, or even the pickiest person on your list, you can feel confident going into this holiday season knowing that Saks is there to help you find inspiration. Curate a holiday wish list, Pick out gifts for your loved ones and have a look ready for whatever might come your way. Whether it's an office holiday party, a cozy night in, or a vacation getaway, Saks has everything you need. If you're looking for shopping to be personalized and easy this holiday season, then head to Saks Fifth Avenue for inspiring ways to shop for everyone on your list. This podcast is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game, shifting a little money here, a little there, and hoping it all works out well? With the name your price tool from Progressive, you can be a better budgeter and potentially lower your insurance bill too. You tell Progressive what you want to pay for car insurance and they'll help find you options within your budget. Try it [e-mail] progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law not available in all states. Shania Twain, born and raised in Ontario, Canada, was attending the June 19, 1993 edition of Fanfare, the annual country music meet and greet event, to promote her self Titled debut album, the CD had earned respectable notices and did spin off a couple of minor radio hits. But The Shania Twain CD stalled at number 67 on the country albums chart at a time when country was crossing over and going multi platinum. In the era of Garth brooks and Reba McIntyre. We are a family, Shania Twain was at best a promising but third tier artist. But that fanfare is where she met Mutt Lang. Shania was a fan of the kind of rock Mutt produced. And Mutt, who'd been a fan of American country music since childhood, remember his love of Slim Whitman, wanted to try his hand at country. He heard great promise in Shania's debut. And he offered to work on her next album. Within weeks, their relationship was more than professional. Just six months after fanfare, Shania and Mutt were were not only married, they were already co writing material for Twain's second album. Though he was relatively new to the ways of Nashville, Lange was determined to break in. It was a good moment to pivot. Rock fans were migrating toward country music and post Garth Brooks. Many country hits were basically suburban soft rock with twang as a beta test. In 1994, Mutt wrote a song for country star Billy Ray Cyrus that reached number 23 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs. Not bad for a first try. In the spring of 1995, Shania Twain released her second album, the Woman in Me, her first produced by her husband Mutt Lang. From the jump, its singles were spunkier and more energetic than anything on Twain's debut. The first single, whose bed have your boots been under? Mutt liked songs with conversational titles, hit number 11 on the country chart. That single was quickly followed by Any man of Mine, which became Twain's first number one country song in July of 1995. That sent the Woman in Me album to number one as well. And it kept spinning off hits. Pretty quickly. Listeners noticed Shania Twain's hits didn't sound like anything else on country radio. Sure, they had all the sonic hallmarks of mainstream country fiddle, banjo, pedal steel. But Mutt Lang amped up her singles with anthemic hooks not unlike his rock and pop hits. They were stadium country songs even before Shania was ready to play stadium. Mutt also encouraged Shania to sprinkle her lyrics with exclamation points, especially song titles. Her second number one hit, if you're not in it for love, I'm outta here, ended with the banging punctuation. This sassiness played in the media and on the radio as a kind of Pop feminism, Twain expressing her freedom and independence. But the mastermind of this Persona was a veteran rocker dude with a mullet and a gift for faders and knobs. The Woman in Me spent a stunning 29 weeks at number one on the Country Albums chart and spun off eight singles on the Country Songs chart, four of which hit number one. Any man of Mine, I'm Outta Here, you, Win My Love, and no One Needs to know. On that last country chart topper, you could hear Mutt Lang's voice providing harmony vocals in a de facto duet with his wife. True to his mystery man status, however, Mutt didn't appear in the music video. By the time the Woman in Me spun off its final hit hit in the closing weeks of 1996, the album was eight times platinum. It is now certified for sales of 12 million copies. And Shania Twain and Mutt Lang were already writing the follow up on the breakthrough album. Shania and Mutt brought a pop sensibility to country music. On the blockbuster follow up, they would bring their brand of country straight to the pop charts. They even bake their crossover intentions right into the album's title, Come On Over. When the Come on over album arrived in the fall of 1997, its first single, Love Gets Me Every Time, was already number one on the country chart. More remarkably, that twangy bop also made it to number 25 on the Hot 100. But that turned out to be just a warm up for the album's blockbuster pop breakthrough. When I first saw you I saw and the first time you touched me you're still the one. More than any of the prior hits Shania Twain and Mutt Lang wrote together was actually autobiographical, given their 17 year age difference. Twain noticed that careerist naysayers were second guessing their marriage, especially in the music business. So she wrote a gentle, folky ballad remarking on how she and her husband had persevered. Looks like we made it, she sings. Look how far we've come. She brought it to Lang, who loved the sentiment and wrote the song's very memorable melodic chorus. The result was a a song that not only became a wedding standard, but Shania Twain's biggest crossover hit. Released as a single in early 1998, you're still the the One not only topped the country chart, it rose to number two on the Hot 100 and stayed there for nine weeks during the summer of 98. It would have topped the pop chart if not For Brandy and Monica's 13 week number one hit, the boy Is Mine. And around the world, you're still the one blew up, reaching the top 10 in nearly a dozen countries from Ireland to Croatia to New Zealand Zealand. It turned the Come on over album into a global blockbuster. Back in America, it also established Shania Twain, a decade before Taylor Swift, as a legitimate crossover country to pop star. Come on over wound up generating multiple top 10 pop hits, including the number four ballad from this Moment on this.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Moment as long as I live I will love you, I promise you this.

[Chris Melanfi]

And the spunky number seven pop hit that Don't Impress Me Much. Both of these singles did better on the Hot 100 than they did on the country chart.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

That don't impress me much so yeah got the brains but have you got the touch? Now don't get me wrong yeah, I.

[Chris Melanfi]

Think you're alright and though it didn't do quite as well on the charts at the time, reaching number four country and number 23 pop, man I Feel Like a Woman Let's Go Girls has become Twain's legacy hit more than a quarter century later, Man I Feel Like A Woman is her top song at Spotify with nearly 3/4 of a billion streams. And between the loud riffs and the two exclamation points in its title, Man I Feel Like a Woman is Archdeacon. Arguably Shania's most Mutt like anthem, Come on over spun off hits for nearly three years, from 1997 to mid 2000. In all, 11 singles were issued at country radio and the album spent a record 50 weeks at number one on the country albums chart. Twain would hold that record for more than two decades until a Morgan Wallen LP finally surpassed her. About half of the Come on over singles made the pop charts too, and the album was certified double diamond, Mutt Lang's second 20 million plus seller after ACDC's Back in Black. And that's just in America. Around the world, Come on over has sold 40 million copies, second only to Whitney Houston's Bodyguard soundtrack among top sellers by women, all for an album about Mutt Lang and Shania Twain wanting to smash multiple genres.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

This country right out of this world.

[Chris Melanfi]

Unsurprisingly, Come on over took longer to follow up now that Shania Twain was one of the biggest global music stars, period. She and Mutt tripled down on crossing over with her 2002 album Up. By the way, the title up included an exclamation point. It was issued in three versions, color coded by genre, a green country cd, a red pop cd and a blue international disc. Any given track on the album, such as the lead single I'm gonna get you Good was remixed or re recorded for each audience, whether. Pop. Or international, which had a specifically South Asian Bollywood style flavor. In short, up was more an expression of Mutt Lang's cross genre global ambitions than Shania Twain's country Persona. It did sell quickly out of the Box, Twain's first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 pop album chart, but its final sales total was less than half of Come on Over and its singles did nowhere near as well on the charts. No country number ones and no pop top.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Tension.

[Chris Melanfi]

Up would be the last album Twain and Lang worked on together, and contrary to the love songs they'd co written, their marriage did not have a storybook ending. Unless that storybook is a primetime Soap Opera. After 15 years of marriage in 2008, Lang cheated on Twain with her best friend. Twain and lang separated for two years before divorcing in 2010. The following year, Twain married her former friend's ex husband so much for forever and for always. We'll be right back. Hey there Hit Parade listeners. Soon enough it'll be the holiday season, and if you're a music geek like me, you'll know it's time to start shopping when your radio station or streaming service is chock a block with all those merry tunes. This year, if you want to give a fellow music lover the gift of songs, albums and more, you need Apple Gift Card. They can use it for an Apple music subscription, that music dock they've been eyeing on the Apple TV app or even a new pair of AirPods. It's a guaranteed chart topper. Visit applegiftcard.apple.com to learn more and gift one. Today, most holiday gifts end up in a drawer. Not this one. Mint Mobile is offering unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month. That's a holiday gift they'll use every day. Even Slate's president Charlie Camerer is using Mint Mobile and he says more people should be trying this out. It was really easy to switch providers. The SIM card was shipped to his home, they let him use his existing phone, and he didn't even have to change his phone number. Mint Mobile's best deal of the year is happening right now. Get a 3, 6 or 12 month unlimited plan for $15 a month. All Mint plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text on the nation's largest 5G network. Don't get them socks, get them Premium Wireless for free $15 a month. Shop Mint Unlimited [e-mail] parade that's mintmobile.com parade Limited time offer upfront payment of $45 for three month, $90 for six month or $180 for 12 month plan required $15 per month equivalent taxes and fees Extra initial plan term only speeds above 35GB sites may slow when network is busy. Capable device required availability, speed and coverage varies. See mintmobile.com after his multi platinum successes with Def Leppard, Brian Adams and especially Shania Twain, Mutt Lang only worked when he wanted to. He moved to Switzerland where he lives to this day, and professionally he became a sonic specialist across genres pop, country and rock. His pop contributions have included songs for the Backstreet Boys. He wrote this 1999 Backstreet Boys track with Max Martin, arguably Mutt's successor among cross genre maximalist super producer.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

It's Gotta be you.

[Chris Melanfi]

The next year he co wrote and produced a single for Britney Spears second CD, oops I did it again, the top 40 radio hit don't let me be the last to Know.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Don't don't let me be the last to know.

[Chris Melanfi]

And also in 2000 he gave Irish sibling quartet the Chorus their all time biggest international hit, Breathless. An explosively catchy pop anthem, Breathless was their only top 40 hit in America, their only number one in the UK and a top 10 hit in countries around the world.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Come On, Leave Me, Breathless and.

[Chris Melanfi]

On the Countryside. Other Nashville hitmakers have reached out to Mutt for some of the magic he achieved with Shania Twain. Lange has contributed songs for such acts as lone star. Their 1997 number four country hit you Walked in was co written by Lange with his friend Bryan Adams. Jessica Andrews, whose 1999 debut album included the Mutt song I'll take your.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

Heart before you know it's gone Leave you standing but you won't be alone and.

[Chris Melanfi]

American Idol winner and country megastar Carrie Underwood. Her triple platinum 2012 album Blown Away closed with the Mutt Lang composition who Are youe? And finally on the rock side, Mutt did eventually contribute songs to latter day Def Leppard, including the hit promises from their 1999 album Euphoria. Both that album title and the track's sleek sound were an intentional throwback to vintage Mutt era. Def Leppard. Promises reached number one on Billboard's mainstream rock chart in the summer of 1999. Def Leppard's last chart topping hit, Leopard's work with Lang continues to define their career a decade later. Lang transitioned to the next generation of mainstream rockers when Canadian hitmakers Nickelback hired him to produce the follow up to their smash CD all the Right Reasons. Their Mutt produced 2008 disc was called Dark Horse and in the spirit of vintage AC dc, Lange helped them co write raunchy hits like Something in your Mouth, another number one rock hit. Indeed in the 21st century century. When a band hired Mutt Lang to produce a full album, it was usually an attempt to glom onto the vintage Mutt arena rock mystique. Two years after Nickelback's Dark Horse, LA hit makers Maroon 5 commissioned Lange to produce their third album Hands all over, which fused their slick pop rock with a Mutt like strut. The album reached number two on the Billboard 200 and spun off the single Misery, a number 14 hit on the Hot 100 in 2010. And as late as 2015 Mutt Lang was was still topping the charts When English Prague rock band Muse hired Mutt to produce their seventh album, Drones. AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised Lang for quote sharpening Muse's synthesis of every arena rock idea. Unquote. Not only did Drones top the Billboard 200, its electro rock single Dead Inside reached number one on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart. Seriously, in 2015, deep into his 60s, Mutt Lang produced the top alt rock hit. And on the Hot 100. Mutt Lang's last major hit came in 2011 when Lady Gaga brought Mutt into the studio to add some arena rock pomp to her Born this Way album. Mutt sang backup on a couple of album tracks and more prominently he produced Gaga's song you and I featuring Queen legend Brian May on guitar water. You and I reached number six on the Hot 100 in the fall of 2011. Mutts last last top 10 pop hit to date. And I say to date because I wouldn't write off Mutt Lang just yet. In the 2000s he has emerged from his Swiss hideaway to contribute to the occasional track or album. Old friend Brian Adams lured Mutt out of semi retirement in 2022 to co produce and co write five songs on Adam's LP so Happy It Hurts. Mutt and Adams revived their vintage, lighter waving rock sound on songs like Kick Ass, Always have, Always Will and On the Road.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

On the Road I am Ready to Explode.

[Chris Melanfi]

And Lang is clear clearly still paying attention to new music. For rising Australian rock vocalist Leah Martin Brown, Mutt produced the punchy 2024 single Boys.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

He Knows his wheelhouse.

[Chris Melanfi]

One major Mutt associate who is no longer in touch with him for obvious reasons is his former wife and fellow hitmaker Shania Twain. In a round of 2024 and 25 interviews supporting her most recent Las Vegas residency. Twain said that despite their traumatic breakup, she had found a way to forgive but not forget what her ex husband did, and that she had even found the fortitude to begin performing their biggest and most romantic hit, you're still the one live once again. Here she is in 2025 singing the song in conc.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

I know.

[Chris Melanfi]

It'S good to hear Shania moving on and embracing her musical history again. The songs she and Mutt Lang wrote together moved tens of millions of people worldwide for a reason. Well, several reasons. Sure, there was parasocial fandom listeners projecting about Shania and Mutts, then happy marriage, but they're also just sturdy songs. Mutt Lang wrote and produced a lot of those. And maybe one day Shania Twain will find the courage to do what she did 20 years ago and perform other Muttlang songs like the time she covered one of his ACDC classics.

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

He was a fast machine he kept his motor clean he was the best dumb looking guy ever seen he had sexy eyes telling me whole lies that's.

[Chris Melanfi]

One double diamond seller covering another double diamond seller. That's Robert John Mutt Lang's legacy. Maybe he couldn't keep his own relationships together together, but he's done plenty to keep generations of pop fans rocking together all night long. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Hit Parade. Our show was written, edited and and narrated by Chris Melanfy. That's me. My producer is Kevin Bendis. Kevin also produced the latest installment of our monthly Hit Parade the Bridge shows, which are available exclusively to Slate plus members. In our latest Bridge episode, I welcome Nashville based journalist Brian Mansfield, who explains how Mutt Lang and Shania Twain changed the sound of country music in the 1990s. To sign up for Slate plus and hear not only the Bridge but all our shows the day they drop, visit slate.com hitparadeplus our supervising producer is Joel Meyer and the Executive producer of Slate Podcasts is Mia Lobel. Check out their roster of [e-mail].

[Song Lyrics / Musical Interludes]

You.

[Chris Melanfi]

Can subscribe to Hit Parade wherever you get your podcasts, in addition to finding it in the Slate Culture feed. If you're subscribing on Apple Podcasts, please rate and review us while you're there. It helps other listeners find the show. Thanks for listening and I look forward to leading the Hit Parade back your way. Until then, keep on marching on the one. I'm Chris Melancholy Faith. This episode is brought to you by Saks Fifth Avenue. Saks makes it easy to find the perfect gifts and holiday looks that suit your personal style. The holidays can be a lot of things exciting, relaxing, heartwarming, and yes, sometimes even a little stressful. That's why you need Saks.com Saks makes holiday shopping easy, stress free and most importantly, fun. Whether it's for yourself, your family and friends, or even the pickiest person on your list, you can feel confident going into this holiday season knowing that Saks is there to help you find inspiration. Curate a holiday wish list, pick out gifts for your loved ones and have a look ready for whatever might come your way. Whether it's an office holiday party, a cozy night in, or a vacation getaway, Saks has everything you need. If you're looking for shopping to be personalized and easy this holiday season, then head to Saks Fifth Avenue for inspiring ways to shop for everyone on your list. And Doug, here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Uh, limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us? Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Ferry Unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates Excludes Massachusetts.