Queen, Cars Producer Roy Thomas Baker Passes at 78

New York, NY (April 22, 2025)—Producer/engineer/A&R executive Roy Thomas Baker died April 12, 2025 at home in Lake Havasu City, AZ, his family announced today. The cause of death is undetermined at this time; he was 78. Baker’s passing brings to a close an incredible career that saw him help create many of rock’s greatest moments, including Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” T. Rex’s “Bang A Gong” and The Cars’ eponymous first album.

The list of names that Baker worked across a 50-plus year career is astonishing; beyond Queen, T-Rex and The Cars, his discography includes rock acts like Free, Journey, Foreigner, Cheap Trick and Alice Cooper; metal maestros like Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe and Metallica; one-hit-wonders like T’Pau and Local H; punk pioneers like Devo and the Stranglers; adult contemporary artists like Dusty Springfield and Chris de Burgh; and countless others. Whether producing, engineering or signing acts, Roy Thomas Baker had a direct impact on the sound and feel of rock n’ roll’s glory days, always bringing to bear an ear for razor-sharp production and a keen insight as to what the public wanted to hear.

Born in Hampstead, London on November 10, 1946, Baker entered the music business at 14, working at Decca Records where he made his way up to second engineer for the likes of Tony Visconti and Gus Dudgeon. While there, he was involved in recordings by The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Moody Blues, Dr. John, Yes and David Bowie, among others. Taking on the role of chief engineer in 1971, he further recorded Free’s “Alright Now” and “Bang A Gong” by T. Rex, before eventually moving to Trident Studios, where co-founded the studio’s own record company, Neptune, and began working with the fledgling Queen. It was a fruitful working relationship that would see Baker produce the band’s first four albums—Queen, Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack and A Night at the Opera—in two and a half years, before later reuniting with the group for 1978’s Jazz.

Roy Thomas Baker: Taking Chances and Making Hits

On the heels of signing a production deal with CBS in the U.S. in the late 1970s, Baker moved to the U.S., setting up offices for RTB Audio Visual Productions in both New York City and Los Angeles, and producing the likes of Journey, Ian Hunter, Ronnie Wood and Reggie Knighton of The Grass Roots. During this time, he was asked to check out a young Boston band whose demo had received airplay on the city’s rock radio powerhouse WBCN; catching the act playing a school gym, Baker signed on to produce the group, and the four albums they recorded together—The Cars, Candy-O, Panorama and Shake It Up—went a combined 13x platinum.

As SVP of A&R at Elektra Records—home to both Queen and The Cars in the U.S.—Baker produced or executive produced albums by Lindsey Buckingham, Dokken, Mötley Crüe and Joe Lynn Turner during that era. Also during his time in that position, Elektra signed the likes of Metallica, Simply Red, Yello and 10,000 Maniacs. As time went on, he variously worked with Guns N’ Roses, produced 2000s-era albums for The Darkness and Smashing Pumpkins, and closed out his production career with Yes’ 2014 album Heaven & Earth.

Baker is survived by his wife Tere Livrano Baker and brother Alan Baker. Additionally, he leaves Eva Ashley, his aunt, Tere’s nephews Dominic Ledesma and Julian Ledesma, as well as sisters-in-law Lezlee, Lori and Lyn Livrano.

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