Roy Thomas Baker obit

Roy Thomas Baker, Queen and The Cars Producer, Dies at 78

He notably produced the 1975 hit single “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the most-streamed song from the 20th century.

 He was not on the list.

Roy Thomas Baker, the English producer who worked with Queen and The Cars in the 1970s and 1980s, has died. He was 78.

No cause of death has been announced.

Baker began his career in the music industry in his teenage years and eventually worked alongside Elton John’s producer, Gus Dudgeon. Early on, he worked with Tony Visconti, one of David Bowie’s producers, Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones, The Who and many more artists.

In 1972, Baker met Queen, and they collaborated across five varying albums. While working with the rock band, he produced a number of their tracks, including their 1975 hit “Bohemian Rhapsody” from their fourth studio album A Night at the Opera.

The song was nominated for two Grammys and was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004. Notably, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is the most-streamed song from the 20th century.

Baker was quite an influential producer in the 1970s and 1980s, serving as a producer for four of The Cars‘ albums, Mötley Crüe’s debut studio album Too Fast for Love and The Smashing Pumpkins’ 2007 and 2008 records, Zeitgeist and American Gothic. 

“I think he brought a certain amount of discipline and a lot of cynicism [laughs], and a passion for fattening desserts. But no, he was very disciplined and very strict in the beginning,” Queen’s Roger Taylor previously said of Baker. “But he would always get it right. The take had to be right. We would do a lot of takes sometimes before it was right. Because things were very different then, you know, you had to get it all right, all at once.”

Baker’s additional collaborators include Guns N’ Roses, Foreigner, Pilot, Ozzy Osbourne and Journey, among others.

Baker began his career at Decca Records at the age of 14 and later worked as an assistant engineer at Morgan Studios. Encouraged by music producer Gus Dudgeon, he soon moved to Trident Studios, where he worked with Dudgeon, Tony Visconti, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and Frank Zappa, as well as recording artists such as the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, the Who, Gasolin', Nazareth, Santana, the Mothers of Invention, Jet, Be Bop Deluxe, Free and T. Rex.

Survivors include his wife, Tere Livrano Baker, and his brother, Alan Baker.

 

Discography

Arnold Corns: "Man in the Middle" (1971 – released 1985)

Free: Fire and Water (1970)

Black Widow: Sacrifice (engineer) (1970)

Nazareth: Nazareth (engineer) (1971)

Nazareth: Exercises (1972)

Gasolin': Gasolin' 3 (1973)

Gasolin': Stakkels Jim (in English: "Poor Jim") (1974)

Queen: Queen (1973) (Credited as Roy Baker)

Queen: Queen II (1974)

Hawkwind: Hall of the Mountain Grill (1974)

Robert Calvert: Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters (1974)

Man : Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics (1974)

The Trammps: ‘’The Legendary Zing Album’’ (1975)

Queen: Sheer Heart Attack (1974)

Queen: A Night at the Opera (1975)

Jet: Jet (1975)

Be-Bop Deluxe: Futurama (1975)

Gasolin': Gas 5 (1975)

Lewis Furey: The Humours Of (1976)

Pilot: Morin Heights (1976)

Gasolin': Efter endnu en dag (1976)

Ian Hunter: Overnight Angels (1977)

Starcastle: Fountains of Light (1977)

Starcastle: Citadel (1977)

Dusty Springfield: It Begins Again (1978)

The Cars: The Cars (1978)

Queen: Jazz (1978)

Journey: Infinity (1978)

Journey: Evolution (1979)

Yes: Paris Sessions aka Golden Age Sessions (1979; unreleased)

Ron Wood: Gimme Some Neck (1979)

The Cars: Candy-O (1979)

Foreigner: Head Games (1979)

Alice Cooper: Flush the Fashion (1980)

The Cars: Panorama (1980)

The Cars: Shake It Up (1981)

Heavy Metal (Music From The Motion Picture) (1982)

Cheap Trick: One on One (1982)

Devo: Oh, No! It's Devo (1982)

Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Music from the Motion Picture (1982)

Mötley Crüe: Too Fast for Love (1982)

Espionage: Espionage (1983)

Joe Lynn Turner: Rescue You (1985)

Jon Anderson: 3 Ships (1985)

American Anthem (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1986)

T'Pau: Bridge of Spies (titled T'Pau in the US) (1987)

Slade: You Boyz Make Big Noize (1987)

Ozzy Osbourne: No Rest for the Wicked (1988)

The Stranglers: 10 (1989)

East of Eden: East of Eden (1989)

Chris de Burgh: Spark to a Flame (1990)

Shy: Misspent Youth (1990)

Dangerous Toys: Hellacious Acres (1991)

The Stranglers: All Twelve Inches (1992)

Wayne's World: Music from the Motion Picture (1992)

Local H: Pack Up the Cats (1998)

Caroline's Spine: "Attention Please" (1999)

The Darkness: One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005)

The Smashing Pumpkins: Zeitgeist (2007)

Transformers: The Album (2007)

The Storm: Where The Storm Meets The Ground (2008)

The Smashing Pumpkins: American Gothic (2008)

Jimmy Chamberlin's This: Great Civilization (2010)

Maximilian Is King. featuring Arthur Lynn and Nick Fowler: Songs To Kill Yourself With (2012)

Yes: Heaven & Earth (2014)