Music / Press & broadcasting
David Was
born 1952 · musician, songwriter, record producer, journalist
Detroit-born co-founder of Was (Not Was) with his childhood friend Don Was, the art-funk band behind "Walk the Dinosaur."
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Birth name
- David Jay Weiss
- Detroit years
- 1950s–1980s
- Field
- Music, Press & broadcasting
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
David Weiss was born in Detroit to a Jewish family and grew up in the northern suburbs, graduating from Oak Park High School before attending the University of Michigan. With his childhood friend Don Fagenson, who became Don Was, he founded Was (Not Was) in the Detroit area at the end of the 1970s; the pair wrote the songs together, with David on flute, keyboards and harmonica. Their mix of funk, rock, jazz and deadpan humor, sung by Detroit vocalists Sweet Pea Atkinson and Sir Harry Bowens, drew critical praise from the first album onward. The group scored four top-ten singles worldwide, and "Walk the Dinosaur" from What Up, Dog? (1988) became a lasting pop-culture favorite. David later produced soundtrack albums for The X-Files, wrote theme music for national sports broadcasts, worked as a jazz critic for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and has contributed to NPR and major newspapers.
Highlights
- Co-founded Was (Not Was) with Don Was
- "Walk the Dinosaur" from What Up, Dog? (1988)
- Four top-ten singles worldwide with Was (Not Was)
- Produced soundtrack albums for The X-Files