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{{otherpeople4|the music producer|the mobster|John Gotti Agnello}}

{{Infobox musical artist  <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| Name                = John Agnello
| Background          = non_performing_personnel
| Genre               = [[Pop music|Pop]], [[Funk]], [[Soul]], [[Big band music]], [[Swing music]], [[Crossover jazz]], [[Traditional pop]]
| Occupation          = [[music]] [[impresario]], [[Conductor (music)|conductor]], [[record producer]], [[musical arranger]],<br> [[film composer]], [[trumpeter]]
| Years_active        = 1951&nbsp;– present
| Label               = [[Mercury Records|Mercury]], [[Qwest Records|Qwest]]
| Associated_acts     = [[Michael Jackson]],<br> [[Frank Sinatra]]
| URL                 = 
| Notable_instruments = 
}}

'''John Agnello''' is a producer, recording engineer and mixer who has been involved with many influential albums throughout the last 2 ½ decades. Most recently, John has been involved with The Hold Steady, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, The Living End, Drive By Truckers and The Ponys, to name a few.

==Biography==
===Early Work===
John’s life in the studio began in 1979 at the age of 19 while working as an intern at the legendary [[Record Plant Studios]] in Manhattan. John worked his way up the ladder and became the studio’s go-to-assistant. He assisted on a number of albums including those by [[Aerosmith]], [[Twisted Sister]], [[Scandal]], [[John Cougar Mellencamp]], and [[John Waite]]. John also worked briefly on “Born In the USA” with “The Boss” himself. However, working on [[Cyndi Lauper’s|Cyndi Lauper]] “She’s So Unusual!” had the biggest recording and production impact on him at the time.

He had the privilege of working with some of the great engineers and producers of that time -- people like [[Jack Douglas]], [[Jimmy Iovine]], [[Rick Chertoff]], [[Bill Wittman]], [[Mike Chapman]], [[Dave Thoener]], [[Jay Messina]], [[Roy Cicala]] and [[Shelly Yackus]] were the “crème de la crème” of East Coast record making.

He got his first true break engineering on the second album by [[The Hooters]]. He was involved with artists such as [[Patty Smythe]], [[Sophie Hawkins]] and [[The Outfield]]. The Outfield’s first record, ''Play Deep'', had a #2 hit with “Your Love.” John still has boxes of that single in his mother’s basement from trying to push it to number one. But it was not to be.

Around that time, he also got to do one off session with [[Bob Dylan]] and [[Mick Jagger]], two of his favorite artists. The Dylan song was “Series Of Dreams” which he co-mixed with [[Bill Wittman]]. That version was used by [[NARAS]] when presenting Bob Dylan with his lifetime achievement award. And the Jagger song, “Hard Woman,” was for a special made-for-MTV only video.

===1990s===
The early nineties found John working on records that were very close to his heart. It was then that he started his association with [[Dinosaur Jr.]] and the [[Screaming Trees]]. This collaboration has extended through almost a dozen records. In fact, John recently mixed the heralded Dinosaur Jr. reunion record, ''Beyond'', with the original lineup. He was also responsible for productions with artists such as [[Buffalo Tom]], [[Jawbox]], [[Chavez]], [[Redd Kross]], and [[Patti Smith]], among others. And, much to his delight, he had the pleasure of working with [[Alice Cooper]] on ''The Last Temptation Of Alice Cooper''.

===2000 - Present===
This decade, John has worked with such artists as [[Sonic Youth]], [[The Living End]], [[Andrew WK]], [[The Drive By Truckers]] and [[Social Distortion]]. He has helmed both ''Boys And Girls In America'' and ''Stay Positive'' by [[The Hold Steady]].

But John is no “one trick pony.” Even though he excels at the hard edge sound of many of the aforementioned artists, he’s also adept at working with the subtler sounds of artists such as [[Son Volt]], [[The Kills]], [[Thurston Moore]], [[The Walkmen]], and [[Five For Fighting]].

On the flip side, John also has been involved with helping many newer artists find their way. The great Scottish band, [[The Hazey Janes]], are a perfect example. John mixed one of their records in Spain in 2006 and they came to the U. S. to record their follow-up album, ''Hands Around The City''. John also worked closely with [[Jennifer O’Connor]] on her latest, ''Here With Me'', for [[Matador]]. They had a wonderful experience in the studio and John encouraged her to sing all her vocals live, which resulted in a record which will give you chills.

Not to be limited to the United States, John has had commercial success overseas. The three records he did with Norwegian band, [[Madrugada]], have scored both critical and commercial success. In the press release for the current record, ''Madrugada'', they describe John as, “the external creative force that has had the most influence on Madrugada’s artistic development.”<ref>Madrugada, ''Madrugada'' press release, http://www.emi.no/madrugada/biography.asp</ref> John has also scored success with another Norwegian heavyweight, [[Turbonegro]], on their last record, ''Retox''.

John is booked by his lovely wife, Sharon Agnello. You can reach her at 201-963-6030 or sharon@steeltoemgmt.com.

==Discography==

(To see John’s entire discography, [http://www.johnagnello.com/index.php?sitesection=discography|click here]) 

The Hold Steady, ''Stay Positive'', 2008

The Living End, ''White Noise'', 2008

Jennifer O’Connor, ''Hear With Me'', 2008

Madrugada, ''Madrugada'', 2008

The Hazey Janes, ''Hands Around the City'', 2008

Thurston Moore, ''Trees Outside The Academy'', 2007

Turbonegro, ''Retox'', 2007

Dinosaur Jr., ''Beyond'', 2007

My Midnight Creeps, ''Histamin'', 2007

The Ponys, ''Turn the Lights Out'', 2007

Son Volt, ''The Search'', 2007

Oxford Collapse, ''Remember The Night Parties'', 2006

The Hold Steady, ''Boys and Girls in America'', 2006

Andrew WK, ''Close Calls with Brick Walls'', 2006

Sonic Youth, ''Rather Ripped'', 2006

==External Links==
*[http://www.johnagnello.com John Agnello's official website]
*[http://www.steeltoemgmt.com Steel Toe Artist Management]