Roy Thomas Baker (10 November 1946 – 12 April 2025) was an English record producer, songwriter and arranger who produced rock and pop songs.

Life and career

Baker was born in Hampstead, London on 10 November 1946. He began his career at

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

at 14 and later worked as an assistant engineer at Morgan Studios in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Encouraged by music producer

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...

, he soon moved to

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry ...

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

where he worked with Dudgeon,

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

, and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

in addition to

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

. He recorded artists including

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

, Gasolin',

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

The Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) were an American rock music, rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an ...

, Jet, Be Bop Deluxe, Free, and T. Rex. After co-founding Neptune (Trident's record company), Baker met the rock band

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. Thus began a relationship lasting for five albums (''

'', ''

Queen II ''Queen II'' is the second studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 8 March 1974 by EMI Records in the UK and Elektra Records in the US. It was recorded at Trident Studios and Langham 1 Studios, London, in August 1973 ...

'', ''

Sheer Heart Attack ''Sheer Heart Attack'' is the third studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 8 November 1974 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. Departing from the progressive themes featured on t ...

'', '' A Night at the Opera,'' and ''

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

'') and a number of awards including 21

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

and several

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

for the hit song, "

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''A Night at the Opera (Queen album), A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by Queen's lead si ...

". After his success with Queen and other artists, Baker signed a multi-album production deal with CBS Music (Columbia Records, Sony Music, Epic Records, etc.). He proceeded to move to the U.S. and set up RTB Audio Visual Productions in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. With the CBS deal, RTB produced Journey, Starcastle, Reggie Knighton of the Grass Roots), Ian Hunter, and

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, and a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing lead guitar with several Brit ...

(The Rolling Stones). Also at the time, he committed to produce four albums for

the Cars The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave Subculture, scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (l ...

after being prompted by Elektra Records to see them perform in a

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

school gymnasium. The albums were certified platinum and The Cars were nominated for a Grammy. He was offered the post of senior vice president of A&R for Elektra as executive and/or producer with recording artists

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician, record producer, and the lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with ...

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

Joe Lynn Turner Joe Lynn Turner (born Joseph Arthur Mark Linquito, August 2, 1951) is an American singer best known for his work with Rainbow (rock band), Rainbow, Deep Purple, and Yngwie Malmsteen. Turner joined Rainbow (rock band), Rainbow in the early 1980 ...

, Josie Cotton and

Dokken Dokken is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band has had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as " Alone Again", " In My Dreams", and ...

as well as continuing with Queen and the Cars. During his tenure, Elektra signed artists

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

Simply Red Simply Red are an English soul music, soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010. They have released thir ...

Yello Yello is a Swiss electronic music band, which formed in Zürich in 1979. For most of the band's history, Yello has been a duo consisting of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank; founding member Carlos Perón left in 1983. Their sound is often charac ...

, Peter Schilling, The World, and 10,000 Maniacs. Baker also worked with

The Cars The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave Subculture, scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (l ...

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

, Foreigner,

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

Devo Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs ( Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 ...

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the ...

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

, T'Pau, Local H,

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...

, and Lewis Furey. In 2005, he produced '' One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back'' by The Darkness;

the Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

' 2007 album, ''

Zeitgeist In 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy, a ''Zeitgeist'' (; ; capitalized in German) is an invisible agent, force, or daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. The term is usually associated with Georg W. F ...

;'' The Storm's 2008 album ''When the Storm Meets the Ground'', the Smashing Pumpkins' '' American Gothic'' and One Karma's 2011 album ''Life Got in the Way''. Baker produced

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

' 2014 album '' Heaven & Earth'', 35 years after previously working with the band on sessions in Paris which did not lead to an album. Baker died in Lake Havasu City, Arizona on 12 April 2025, at the age of 78.

Discography

Arnold Corns Arnold Corns was a band, formed by David Bowie in 1971, the name of which was inspired by the Pink Floyd song "Arnold Layne". History This was one of Bowie’s side projects and something of a Dry Run (testing), dry run for ''The Rise and Fall ...

: "Man in the Middle" (1971 – released 1985) * Free: '' Fire and Water'' (1970) * Black Widow: ''

Sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

''(engineer) (1970) *

: ''

'' (engineer) (1971) *Nazareth: '' Exercises'' (1972) * Gasolin': '' Gasolin' 3'' (1973) *Gasolin': '' Stakkels Jim'' (in English: "Poor Jim") (1974) *

: ''

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

'' (1974) *

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

: '' Hall of the Mountain Grill'' (1974) *

Robert Calvert Robert Newton Calvert (9 March 1945 – 14 August 1988) was a South African-United Kingdom, British writer, poet, and musician. He is principally known for his role as lyricist, performance poet and lead vocalist of the space rock band Hawkwind ...

: '' Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters'' (1974) *

Man A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

: '' Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics'' (1974) * The Trammps: '' The Legendary Zing Album'' (1975) *Queen: ''

'' (1974) *Queen: '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975) * Jet: ''Jet'' (1975) * Be-Bop Deluxe: ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

'' (1975) *Gasolin': '' Gas 5'' (1975) * Lewis Furey: ''The Humours Of'' (1976) *

: ''Morin Heights'' (1976) *Gasolin': '' Efter endnu en dag'' (1976) * Ian Hunter: '' Overnight Angels'' (1977) * Starcastle: '' Fountains of Light'' (1977) *Starcastle: ''

Citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

'' (1977) *

: '' It Begins Again'' (1978) *

: ''

'' (1978) *Queen: ''

'' (1978) * Journey: ''

Infinity Infinity is something which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is denoted by \infty, called the infinity symbol. From the time of the Ancient Greek mathematics, ancient Greeks, the Infinity (philosophy), philosophic ...

'' (1978) *Journey: ''

Evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

'' (1979) *

: ''Paris Sessions'' aka '' Golden Age Sessions'' (1979; unreleased) *

Ron Wood Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

: '' Gimme Some Neck'' (1979) *The Cars: '' Candy-O'' (1979) * Foreigner: '' Head Games'' (1979) *

: '' Flush the Fashion'' (1980) *The Cars: ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

'' (1980) *The Cars: '' Shake It Up'' (1981) *'' Heavy Metal (Music From The Motion Picture)'' (1982) *

: '' One on One'' (1982) *

: ''

Oh, No! It's Devo ''Oh, No! It's Devo'' is the fifth studio album by American new wave band Devo, released in 1982 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded over a period of four months, between May and September 1982, at Cherokee Studios in Hollywood, Los ...

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

: ''

Too Fast for Love ''Too Fast for Love'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. The first edition of 900 copies was released on November 10, 1981, on the band's original label Leathür Records. Elektra Records signed the band the fo ...

'' (1982) *

Espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

: ''Espionage'' (1983) *

: '' Rescue You'' (1985) *

Jon Anderson Jon Anderson (born John Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944) is a British, and latterly American, singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassis ...

: '' 3 Ships'' (1985) *'' American Anthem (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (1986) * T'Pau: '' Bridge of Spies'' (titled ''T'Pau'' in the US) (1987) *

Slade Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The '' British Hit Singl ...

: '' You Boyz Make Big Noize'' (1987) *

: '' No Rest for the Wicked'' (1988) *

: '' 10'' (1989) *East of Eden: ''East of Eden'' (1989) * Chris de Burgh: '' Spark to a Flame'' (1990) * Shy: ''Misspent Youth'' (1990) *

Dangerous Toys Dangerous Toys is an Austin, Texas-based rock band, with often humorous lyrics. Founded in 1987, Dangerous Toys released four full-length albums and one live album before unofficially disbanding at the turn of the millennium. The band found mai ...

: '' 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) *Other Star People: ''Diamonds In The Belly Of The Dog'' (1999) * The Darkness: '' One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back'' (2005) *

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

: ''

'' (2007) *'' Transformers: The Album'' (2007) * The Storm: ''Where The Storm Meets The Ground'' (2008) *

: '' American Gothic'' (2008) *

Jimmy Chamberlin James Joseph Chamberlin (born June 10, 1964) is an American drummer and record producer. Described as "one of the most powerful drummers in rock," he is best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. Following the ...

's This: ''Great Civilization'' (2010) *Maximilian Is King. featuring Arthur Lynn and Nick Fowler: ''Songs To Kill Yourself With'' (2012) *Yes: '' Heaven & Earth'' (2014)

References

External links

*
Roy Thomas Baker – Flixster Movie Profile.
* *
Roy Thomas Baker (RTB)'s Linked (IN) Professional Profile.

– interview with Baker
Mix interview with Roy Thomas Baker by Rick Clark, April 1, 1999.

Mix interview with Roy Thomas Baker by Paul Tingen, March 1, 2006.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Roy Thomas 1946 births 2025 deaths English record producers People from Hampstead English male songwriters English audio engineers English music arrangers Musicians from the London Borough of Camden English expatriate musicians in the United States

Life and career

Discography

See also

References

External links