Roy Thomas Baker, “Bohemian Rhapsody” Producer, Dead at 78

Roy Thomas Baker, the revered British record producer who helmed Queen’s first four albums and later worked alongside acts including The Cars, Devo, and Cheap Trick, among others, has died at the age of 78.

Born in Hampstead, London, Baker got his start as a second engineer for Gus Dudgeon and Tony Visconti, working on recordings by David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Ginger Baker’s Air Force, The Who, and more. He eventually set out on his own, developing and producing a then-unknown band named Queen.

Baker produced Queen’s first four studio albums—Queen (1973), Queen II (1974), Sheer Heart Attack (1974), and A Night at the Opera (1975)—which yielded early hits such as “Killer Queen” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.” He also helmed their seventh album, 1978’s Jazz, which featured the single “Don’t Stop Me Now.” Queen’s Roger Taylor said of Baker, “I think he brought a certain amount of discipline and a lot of cynicism and a passion for fattening desserts. He liked his food, Roy. He was very disciplined and very strict in the beginning . . . he would always get it right. The take had to be right.”

Baker’s success with Queen let to a multi-album production deal with CBS Music and gigs producing for Journey, Ian Hunter, and Ronnie Wood.  Most notably, he began a collaboration with The Cars that lasted four albums, from their 1978 self-titled debut through 1981’s Shake It Up, and spawned hits like “Just What I Needed, “Good Times Roll,” and “Shake It Up.”

In the early 1980s, Baker was named Senior VP of A&R for Elektra Records. During this period, he worked with the likes of Devo, Cheap Trick, Ozzy Osbourne, and Guns N’ Roses, and also oversaw the signings of Metallica, Simply Red, and 10,000 Maniacs.

Later in his career, Baker produced albums including The Darkness’ One Way Ticket to Hell… and Back and The Smashing Pumpkins’ Zeitgeist.