Roy Thomas Baker — the record producer and engineer best known for his work with Queen, The Cars, Journey, and more — has died. He was 78.
Baker’s death was confirmed in a statement to the media by his publicist. He died in his Lake Havasu City, Ariz. home on April 12. The cause of death was not disclosed.
Baker’s lengthy list of credits is littered with some of the biggest names in rock history. His career first started to take off in 1970. He racked up numerous engineering credits on a number of albums, including T. Rex’s self-titled album, the Rolling Stones’ live album Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!, and Free’s Fire and Water, which feature the classic “All Right Now.”
Baker continued to lend his engineering talents to another iconic release in 1971 in the form of T.Rex’s Electric Warrior, one of the first major hit records of the glam rock genre. It famously features “Bang a Gong (Get It On).”
Beginning in 1973, Baker’s career went into overdrive when he began to work with Queen. He has producer credits on the legendary band’s first five albums: 1973’s Queen, 1974’s Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack, 1975’s A Night at the Opera, and 1976’s A Day at the Races. AllMusic.com’s Steve Kurutz humorously notes, “Roy Thomas Baker produced Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and, if nothing else, deserves his place in history merely based on that brilliant, pristine, and utterly perfect track.”
However, Baker’s producing credits don’t end with Queen. They also include working with Foreigner on 1979’s Head Games and Journey on 1978’s Infinity and 1979’s Evolution. On top of that, he also produced the first four records from The Cars: Their iconic 1978 debut, 1979’s Candy-O, 1980’s Panorama, and 1981’s Shake It Up.
