Producer
John Leventhal enjoyed his greatest success in collaboration with a variety of acclaimed contemporary singer/songwriters. He first attracted notice working with longtime lover
Shawn Colvin, co-writing and producing her Grammy-winning 1989 debut LP
Steady On;
Jim Lauderdale's
Planet of Love followed in 1991, and a year later he reunited with
Colvin for
Fat City in addition to teaming with
Rodney Crowell for
Life Is Messy. In 1993
Leventhal paired with
Rosanne Cash for
The Wheel, becoming her husband a short time later; that same year he also produced
Kelly Willis' self-titled third album, as well as
Marc Cohn's
The Rainy Season and
David Crosby's
A Thousand Roads. A similar flurry of activity followed in 1996, when he helmed
Cash's superb
10 Song Demo and
Kimmie Rhodes' West Texas Heaven; most notably, he also reunited with
Colvin for
A Few Small Repairs, co-authoring her hit "Sunny Came Home," which won both Record of the Year and Song of the Year honors at the 1998 Grammy Awards. ~ Jason Ankeny