A great and towering figure in music. Queen and the Cars alone put him in tier 1 of music producers but there was so much more. An immense inspiration... I even curate art shows on a way related to the way he made records. Creating contrast, drama and memorable interest, worthy of another spin... Again and again. Immortality achieved.
6 days ago (edited) | 2
Rest in peace Roy Thomas Baker. Thank you for the incredible sounds you created.
1 week ago | 6
A lovely summation of his career and contributions, Warren. We've lost many really special talents this last handful of years and losing one as great as RTB really drives that unfortunate truth home. The world certainly feels less magical today knowing he's not in it.
1 week ago | 8
You changed our lives, Roy. Beautiful summary of his life and contributions, Warren.
1 week ago | 4
Always loved his productions. Wish he would have written a book or done more interviews because I always wanted learn how he did what he did. RIP! 🙏
5 days ago | 2
He ushered in the sound of classic rock with "All Right Now" by Free in 1970. You could play that track in any part of the decade, and it would still sound fresh.
1 week ago | 1
Great eulogy. “A Night at the Opera” remains one of my favs of all time too, even though I wasn’t even born when it came out. Such a special album.
6 days ago | 1
As a pro musician, I must say it's always with a deep pleasure that I read all your writings about Queen. Bless you. And RIP Roy, thanks for the Magic.
6 days ago
| 3
Thanks! Always learning from your posts of legends, of legendary songs and albums, and legendary events in music history. The works of modern masters.
1 week ago | 3
RIP. Sound engineering is an art in itself. So many great and talented people behind artists that often go unnoticed.
1 week ago | 2
He’ll be up there. Lifting the Tom Tom faders at least 6 dB louder than everything else just so we know it’s him….
6 days ago | 1
And don't forget the biggest danish rockband Gasolin'. He produced the most iconic danish rock albums of all times. They flew him to Denmark in mid 70's to produce their albums. They were recorded in the legendary Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, that has just opened at that time. Legendary producer Flemming Rasmussen has later told, that it was because of Roy Tomas Baker, that Sweet Silence Studios made so many great sounding records afterwards, because Roy told them which gear to buy.
1 week ago (edited) | 3
Roy was a legend. He produced some of my favorite bands. Queen, The Cars, Foreigner. Rest in peace, Mr. Baker.
1 week ago | 3
I met Roy and his wife at a party and we really hit it off. Such lovely people. I’m so glad that I was able to tell him that I discovered the importance of a producer from listening to his works. He is my inspiration. Rest in peace.
1 week ago | 1
Sorry to hear of his passing.But his work will stand the test of time RIP RTB
1 week ago | 2
A true giant whose work shaped the sound of a generation. The legacy of those Queen and Cars albums is immense and enduring. Rest In Peace Roy.
1 week ago (edited) | 2
I've seen his name in SO many musicians who worked with them and shaped the soumd, polish the song My first time I think seeing a picture. Amazing portrait for and unforgettable teacher.
1 week ago | 1
Produce Like A Pro
Roy Thomas Baker (10 November 1946 – 12 April 2025)
The man who made rock sound like it was arriving from another planet.
Roy Thomas Baker, the English record producer, arranger and songwriter whose wildly imaginative studio techniques helped redefine rock music across five decades, has died in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, aged 78. Best known for his pioneering work with Queen, The Cars, Journey and countless others, Baker brought theatrical flair, sonic experimentation and technical mastery to the mixing desk, becoming one of the most influential figures in music production history.
Born in 1946 in London, Roy began his career remarkably early. At just 14 years old, he joined Decca Records and then moved on to Morgan Studios. Encouraged by producer Gus Dudgeon, he found his creative home at Trident Studios, where he assisted on sessions with titans like David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and Frank Zappa. It was at Trident where he met Queen, forging a collaboration that would change all their lives and ours.
Few songs capture Baker’s genius like Bohemian Rhapsody. With its layered operatic vocals, time signature shifts and audacious scope, the song not only became a global hit but also entered the Guinness World Records and won Queen a Grammy. Behind the desk, it was Roy who turned the impossible into reality, pushing analogue tape and multitrack recording to new heights. With Queen, he crafted five albums that remain iconic, culminating in 1978's Jazz, which pulsed with his unmistakable touch, bold, bright and gloriously unafraid.
For me, as a child, A Night at the Opera was an awakening. I was far too young to know better, really, but that Christmas morning I unwrapped a copy of the album, given to me by my father, a devoted classical and jazz enthusiast, who simply handed it over and said, “This is worthy.” And that was enough. I became utterly obsessed. I listened to side one every day, for hours on end, for two full weeks before I even considered turning it over. When I finally did, side two became just as consuming. It was the first time I’d heard production as part of the performance, the first time the studio itself felt like a character in the band. That was Roy.
Years later, I had the privilege of meeting him in person at my old studio, where he happened to be working while I was there with Jack Douglas. Jack introduced us and Roy didn’t disappoint. Dressed in a velvet jacket, sunglasses on indoors, every inch the legendary English producer, he was absolutely charming. He looked and carried himself exactly as you'd hope a rock and roll alchemist would. The aura, the wit, the charisma, it was all there. A moment I won’t forget.
The late 1970s and early 1980s saw Baker relocate to the United States and sign a production deal with CBS. He went on to produce platinum-selling albums for Journey, brought the Cars to superstardom with four classic records, and worked with artists as diverse as Ian Hunter, Dusty Springfield, Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne. Whether in a Boston gym or a Hollywood studio, Roy had an uncanny knack for hearing greatness before the world caught on.
He was as much a champion of emerging talent as he was a trusted ally of rock legends. As Senior Vice-President of A&R at Elektra Records, he helped shepherd the careers of Metallica, Simply Red and 10,000 Maniacs among others. Yet he never strayed far from the studio, continuing to create adventurous records well into the 2000s, from The Darkness to The Smashing Pumpkins, and even returning to work with Yes in 2014, decades after an earlier, aborted collaboration in Paris.
Roy Thomas Baker was larger than life, not just in reputation but in sound. His productions were bold, technicolour affairs, full of drama, humour and joy. He believed the studio was not just a place to record but a place to invent, to perform, to dream. His influence is heard every time a guitar solo stretches into the cosmos, or when a harmony stack makes your hair stand on end.
In the long history of record producers, Baker occupies a rarefied place, not merely a facilitator of greatness but an essential architect of it.
He is survived by the music, dozens of albums that continue to inspire musicians, producers and fans alike. The fade-out may have finally come, but the echo of his creativity will never stop ringing.
Rest in power, Roy. You truly turned the knobs of destiny.
1 week ago | [YT] | 655