Daniel Lanois was born in Hull, Quebec into a French-Canadian musical family; his mother was a singer and both his father and grandfather were noted violinists. After the separation of his parents in 1963, Lanois moved with his mother to Hamilton, Ontario where he learned the guitar, and with his brother Robert, began recording on a rudimentary cassette player.



However, Daniel Lanois also knows how to play drums. He is featured as drummer on Youssou N'Dour's 1990 album "Set".