Born on September 6, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York, Don DeVito was only eighteen years old when he became the guitarist for the legendary Al Kooper of the Royal Teens. He later formed his own band, the Sabres. The band broke up while touring, leaving DeVito stranded in Fort Smith, Arkansas. But, fortuitously, he met Johnny Cash. Thanks to a coincidental meeting with the “Man in Black,” DeVito joined CBS in 1967. He first worked in the sports division and later transferred to CBS Records (soon after renamed Columbia Records). Cash also introduced him to Bob Dylan.
In New York City, he was taken under the wing of Columbia Records president Clive Davis, who asked him to assist artists and studio producers. He spent countless hours learning from producers such as Bob Johnston, James Guercio, Jimmy Ienner, and Phil Ramone. With his knowledge of music and his studio experience, he moved quickly to a high position in the A&R department at Columbia.
DeVito started a fruitful collaboration with Dylan soon after Dylan’s return to Columbia, beginning with the production of Desire. He produced Street Legal, as well as the live albums Hard Rain and At Budokan. Don Meehan, the sound engineer for Desire, reported that he did not hesitate to share his CBS bonus for the album with DeVito. DeVito also worked as A&R director for other leading artists, including Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Aerosmith, and Blue Öyster Cult. He was appointed vice president of A&R for Columbia in 1976, and national vice president of A&R in 1981.
He was nominated five times for a Grammy Award and won the 1989 Grammy Award in the category of best traditional folk recording for the album Folkways: A Vision Shared—A Tribute to Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly (1988). DeVito played a major role organizing and producing The Concert for New York City, a benefit concert on October 20, 2001, at Madison Square Garden in response to the September 11 attacks. He died on November 25, 2011. He wanted to be remembered “for devotion to the music.”