Rick Rubin, the man behind the hottest albums

updated 2:35 p.m. ET Feb. 5, 2007

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Rick Rubin is a healthy reminder of the danger in relying on superficial impressions.

He's a bearish man with long, flowing hair, a bushy beard and ever-present dark sunglasses. See him at a club and you might be tempted to slip out, taking care not to tip over any motorcycles on the way.

Then you would have lost the chance to meet one of the top producers in the music business, who is up for a Grammy award next week in that category. He produced two of the five discs nominated for album of the year and contributed to another, each in completely different styles. He captured the country-pop of the Dixie Chicks and funky rock of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and produced one track of Justin Timberlake's state-of-the-art dance-pop.

Each of those discs landed in the top 10 of the Rolling Stone magazine reader's poll of favorites from 2006, along with Rubin's fifth album with Johnny Cash, whose late-career resurgence will likely be remembered as one of the producer's most important achievements.

Oh, and that tough guy look? The gentle, soft-spoken Rubin wouldn't let a stranger leave one of his three Los Angeles-area homes recently without wrapping him in a warm hug.

"He's the exact opposite of what you would think he would be," said Emily Robinson of the Dixie Chicks. "With the hard rock and rap background, this guy with the long hair and big beard, everyone was a little intimidated by him at first. But when you realize what he's like, he's just a big teddy bear."

If that weren't enough influence, Rubin has been offered a job as co-chairman of Columbia Records and is in talks with executives there, according to a report in the New York Times and confirmed by a close associate of Rubin's who requested anonymity.

Rubin made his name — and fortune — at the intersection of rock and rap in the 1980s. He founded the Def Jam label with partner Russell Simmons while a student at New York University, and helped make music by Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys and LL Cool J. He loves the aggressiveness of metal and rap, and was behind Run-DMC's influential cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way."

Simmons moved on and Rubin headed West, where his production credits continued to diversify. Slayer, Mick Jagger, AC/DC, Tom Petty, Neil Diamond, Jay-Z and U2 are on the lengthening list of clients.

Unlike Timbaland's jittery beats and synthesizers, Pharrell's spacy soundscapes or Phil Spector's famed "wall of sound," Rubin has no sonic signature.

"I love music and I love bands and my goal, always, working with them is to help them be their best, whatever that is," Rubin said.

The Dixie Chicks were intrigued by Rubin because they noticed his name on a lot of the albums they were listening to. They were sold on him because he didn't come into their first meeting with an agenda, saying how he would make them sound, Robinson said.

Most music producers are technical masters, able to manipulate sounds with the twist of a knob, and obsessed about doing so. Rubin freely admits to having little such expertise. He's a fan.

When musicians express an interest in working with him, Rubin's first step is usually to invite them to one of his homes. His place tucked in the West Hollywood hills has intricately-restored woodwork, a statue of Buddha, art from the "Help!"-era Beatles and a kickin' sound system.

They'll talk music. He probes into their history, what made them become artists in the first place, and whether he feels a personal connection.

That's the level on which he bonded with Cash, despite the appearance — to outside eyes — that they'd be the least likely of collaborators. Cash was easy to talk to, Rubin recalled, and "had a million songs at his fingertips." They became very close friends.

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