Don Law
| Don Law | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Donald Firth Law |
| Born |
February 24, 1902 Leytonstone, London, England |
| Died | December 20, 1982 (aged 80) La Marque, Texas, US |
| Occupation(s) | Record producer, A&R |
| Years active | c.1930-1970s |
| Labels | Brunswick, Columbia |
Donald Firth "Don" Law (February 24, 1902 – December 20, 1982) was an English-born American record producer and music business executive. He produced Robert Johnson's only recordings, and as head of Columbia Records' country music division later worked with many leading country musicians including Bob Wills, Carl Smith, Lefty Frizzell, Ray Price, Johnny Horton, Marty Robbins and Johnny Cash.
Don Law was born in Leytonstone, London, the son of Frederick Law and his wife Marion (née Ludbrook). As a young man he sang with the London Choral Society, before emigrating to the US in 1924.
After a period farming in Alabama, he started work in Dallas, Texas as a bookkeeper for Brunswick Records, until that company was taken over by the American Record Corporation in 1931. He worked closely with ARC executive Art Satherley (who had also been born in England), and increasingly worked in A&R, discovering new talent to record. In 1936, a regional talent scout, Ernie Oertle, introduced Law and Satherley to blues musician Robert Johnson. Law recorded Johnson in San Antonio and Dallas in 1936 and 1937, at the only two sessions that the musician ever recorded. The following year, 1938, Law recorded country musician Bob Wills on the song "San Antonio Rose", which became his signature song.
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