Hi, I'm Adam Gopnik, the staff writer at The New Yorker, and my new book, The Real Work,

Investigates a foundational human question. How do we learn and master a new skill?

Join me as I follow an artist, a dancer, a boxer, and even a driving instructor in pursuit

of mastering mastery. You can pre-order the audiobook, The Real Work, now at Pushkin.fm or wherever

audiobooks are solved. Pushkin.

Don was, remembers the exact moment music changed him. He was 14 when in errands with his mom,

when Joe Henderson's mode for Joe came on the car radio. Joe's tenor sacks taught Don an

important lesson you'll hear about later in this episode. It also cemented his love of music,

which was everywhere in Detroit in the 1960s. From Motown to the Stooges to George Clinton

and Parliament Funkadelic. It's no surprise the city is musically diverse as Detroit, turned out

someone like Don was, who's worked across generations and genres for decades now. He loved the

avant-garde new-wavy band Was Not Was, produced career-defining albums for the B-52s and Bonnie

Rape, including her biggest hit Something to Talk About. He's also worked with Bob Dylan and

as a Rolling Stones go-to producer. For the last decade he's worked as a president of Blue Note

Records, reviving the same legendary jazz label that issued mode for Joe way back in 1966.

Rick Rubin caught up with Don was to talk about his wide-ranging career and why his latest gig

plane base for the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir is a single best thing he's ever done.

This is Broken Record, Liner Notes for the Digital Age. I'm Justin Richmond.

Here's Rick Rubin and Don was.

If you start with Detroit, you're from Detroit?

Yeah, sure. I was born Detroit in 1952, which meant I was a teenager there in the 1960s,

which was a really great time to be in Detroit. The studios played at my high school.

...