Roy Thomas Baker, the iconic producer behind Queen’s legendary 1975 hit Bohemian Rhapsody, admitted they didn’t know just how big the “ageless” track would become
Roy Thomas Baker, the iconic producer behind Queen’s smash-hit Bohemian Rhapsody, has died aged 78.
The legendary producer and songwriter worked with Queen on five of their albums – Queen, Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, A Night at the Opera and Jazz. The band’s 1975 hit Bohemian Rhapsody would go on to become the most-streamed song from the 20th century.
News of Roy’s passing was confirmed by his publicist Bob Merlis in a statement. He died on April 12 at his home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, but cause of death has been given.
The music star worked with some of the biggest artists and bands on the planet, including David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses, Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osbourne, The Rolling Stones, Free, Journey, Yes and the Smashing Pumpkins. He helped produced four albums for the Cars in the 1970s and 80s which became platinum and Grammy-nominated.
However, he was best known for helping to create Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, a nearly six-minute-long track from the band’s fourth album, A Night at the Opera. The song earned two Grammy nominations and, in 2004, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Roy admitted he and the band knew it would be a “hit” but didn’t realise just how big Bohemian Rhapsody would become. He explained the song was “ageless” because “it didn’t confine to any given genre of music.”
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 have poured in for the influential producer on X, formerly Twitter. “Thank you for making my music world richer Mr. Roy Thomas Baker. Rest in peace,” one wrote.
“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,” another commented.
“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’,” a third said.
“Godspeed sir. Roy Thomas Baker also worked on @AndyTaylorLives solo works post @duranduran in 1986 including the ‘American Anthem’ soundtrack,” a fourth added.
“It is possible that no single person had more influence on rock music for over 2 decades than Roy Thomas Baker. He produced a who’s who of rock royalty, including a little band from England named Queen,” a fifth penned.
Queen drummer Roger Taylor previously hailed Baker’s influence on the band’s music. “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,” he said.
“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 when he began his career at Decca Records in the late 1960s. He became in-house engineer at the Central London studio Trident, where he first met Queen. He worked on the band’s self-titled debut album in 1973, and would go on to produce the next four studio albums.
“It [Bohemian Rhapsody] was the first time that an opera section had been incorporated into a pop record, let alone a Number One,” Baker told told Sound On Sound in 1995. “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. While there he produced artists such as Journey, Ian Hunter and Ronnie Wood, before being offered a senior AandR role at Elektra Records.
Baker stressed the importance of creating music that sounds unique. He told MixOnline in 1999: “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.
He added: “It will just be another band, and nothing is worse than being anonymous. That is exactly what you don’t want.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
