Don DeVito Dead: Producer of Bob Dylan Classics Dies After Lengthy Cancer Battle

Don DeVito, an influential and respected record producer best known for his work on two of Bob Dylan's finest albums -- 1975's 'Blood on the Tracks' and the following year's 'Desire' -- has died of prostate cancer, the AP reports. He was 72.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., DeVito started out as a musician, playing guitar for organist Al Kooper and leading his own band, the Sabres. Following that group's dissolution, DeVito took a job at CBS Records -- later known as Columbia -- and remained there throughout his career, working his way up from trainee to producer and executive.

In addition to producing albums for Dylan, whom he reportedly met through close friend Johnny Cash, DeVito worked with such rock luminaries as Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Billy Joel (the two of them are pictured above), Janis Joplin and James Taylor.

He earned a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album in 1989 for 'Folkways -- A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly," and following the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he helped organize 'The Concert for New York City.'

DeVito leaves behind a wife, Carolyn, two kids and a truly impressive body of work.