Queen’s producer Roy Thomas Baker has died aged 78.
The studio wizard was best known for his lengthy working relationship with the British rock legends, having produced five of their albums, including 1975’s A Night at the Opera, which featured the timeless classic Bohemian Rhapsody.
Roy died on April 12 at his home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. News of his passing was confirmed by his publicist in a statement, but no cause of death has been given.
The music star worked with several big artists and bands including David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses, Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osbourne, The Rolling Stones, Free, Journey, Yes and the Smashing Pumpkins.
He also helped produce four albums for The Cars in the 1970s and 80s as well as Mötley Crüe’s debut studio album Too Fast for Love.
However, he was best known for helping to create Queen’s classic tune Bohemian Rhapsody.
Queen’s producer Roy Thomas Baker has died aged 78 (pictured in 2005)
The studio wizard was best known for his lengthy working relationship with the British rock legends, having produced five of their albums, including 1975’s A Night at the Opera, which featured the timeless classic Bohemian Rhapsody (Brian May, John Deacon, Freddie Mercury, and Roy in 1978)
The hit track earned two Grammy nominations and in 2004 was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Roy always knew Bohemian Rhapsody would be a hit, despite being skeptical that it was too long at nearly six minutes. However, he didn’t realise just how big the hit would become.
In a 2005 interview with The New York Times, he said: ‘I thought it was going to be a hit. We didn’t know it was going to be quite that big. I didn’t realise it was still going to be talked about 30 years later.’
Tributes from fans have since poured in for the influential producer on X ( formerly Twitter).
One wrote: ‘Thank you for making my music world richer Mr. Roy Thomas Baker. Rest in peace.’;
‘Another rock and roll legend, producer Roy Thomas Baker, passes. Baker made massive contributions to so many of rock’s best bands, especially Queen, and The Cars, and his genius will be missed. Rest in peace.’;
‘Roy Thomas Baker, the producer who helmed seminal works by Queen and The Cars, has died at 78. While many will point to his work on “Bohemian Rhapsody”, I personally liked how The Cars s/t debut LP ends with ‘Moving in Stereo’ fading into ‘All Mixed Up’.’;
‘R.I.P. Roy Thomas Baker, producer of many of my favourite albums including those by Be Bop Deluxe, Free, The Cars, Hawkwind and this, the 3rd best record of all time.’;
Roy died on April 12 at his home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. News of his passing was confirmed by his publicist in a statement, but no cause of death has been given (pictured with Alice Cooper in 1981)
‘Sad to hear that Roy Thomas Baker has passed. Responsible for the sound of some of my favourite albums growing up, especially Queen. #RIP Roy.’
Queen drummer Roger Taylor, 75, previously hailed Roy’s influence on the band’s music.
He said: ‘I think he brought a certain amount of discipline and a lot of cynicism (laughs), and a passion for fattening desserts. But no, he was very disciplined and very strict in the beginning.
‘But he would always get it right. The take had to be right. We would do a lot of takes sometimes before it was right. Because things were very different then, you know, you had to get it all right, all at once.’
Roy was just 14 years old when he began his career at Decca Records in the late 1960s.
He then became an in-house engineer at Central London studio, Trident, where he first met Queen.
Roy worked on the band’s self-titled debut album in 1973 and went on to produce the band’s next four studio albums.
In a 1995 interview with Sound On Sound, the iconic producer revealed that Bohemian Rhapsody was meant to have just a ‘couple of Galileos’ but things changed once they were inside the studio.
The music star worked with several big artists and bands including David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses, Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osbourne, The Rolling Stones, Free, Journey, Yes and the Smashing Pumpkins
He also helped produce four albums for The Cars in the 1970s and 80s as well as Mötley Crüe’s debut studio album Too Fast for Love (L-R Ric Ocasek, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes, Benjamin Orr, and David Robinson in 1978)
However, he was best known for helping to create Queen’s classic tune Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen rock band pictured in 1975)
Tributes from fans have since poured in for the influential producer on X ( formerly Twitter)
He said: ‘It (Bohemian Rhapsody) was the first time that an opera section had been incorporated into a pop record, let alone a Number One,
‘It was obviously very unusual and we originally planned to have just a couple of Galileos. But things often have a habit of evolving differently once you’re inside the studio, and it did get longer and bigger.’
In the wake of Queen’s success, he moved to New York to work for Columbia Records.
It was there he produced artists such as Journey, Ian Hunter and Ronnie Wood, before being offered a senior Artist and Repertoire role at Elektra Records.
In an interview with MixOnline in 1999, Roy stressed the importance of creating music that sounds unique.
He told the publication: ‘My whole thing is, the more different you can sound from anything else around but still be commercially successful is great! Over the years, I’ve always hearkened back to that philosophy.
‘Back when I did Bohemian Rhapsody, who would’ve ever thought of having a single with an opera section in the middle?
‘If you don’t have that identifiable sound, you are getting merged in. If the DJ isn’t mentioning who it is, then nobody will know who it is.’