By Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone | Roy Thomas Baker, the journeyman rock producer who was behind the boards on hits like the Cars’ “Just What I Needed” and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” has died. He was 78. Baker died earlier this month, April 12, at his home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, though his family only just revealed the news. A cause of death has not yet been established.
Baker worked with some of the biggest rock acts of the past 50 years, including Queen, Lindsey Buckingham, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Smashing Pumpkins, Guns N’ Roses, Foreigner, Alice Cooper, and Cheap Trick. He also worked as an A&R executive at Elektra, where he oversaw the signings of Metallica, 10,000 Maniacs, Yello, and more.
Baker began his career as a second engineer at Decca Studios in London, working under luminaries like Tony Visconti and Gus Dudgeon. He worked on records by the Rolling Stones, the Who, David Bowie, Dusty Springfield, and more, eventually rising through the ranks to become chief engineer. Among his earliest successes were T. Rex’s “Bang a Gong” and Free’s “Alright Now.”
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In a 1999 interview, Baker noted how “Bohemian Rhapsody” bucked against the trend at the time of rock bands being “so intent on being heavy.” He said the notion behind “Bohemian Rhapsody” – with its multi-part blend of rock, pop, and opera – “was not exactly a cool idea,” describing it instead as “basically a joke, but a successful joke.”
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Photo: Roy Thomas Baker
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