Roy Thomas Baker

Roy Thomas Baker (born 10 November 1946) is an English record producer, songwriter and arranger. He helped create a series of extremely popular pop and rock records from the 1970s to the present day. Although he was born in London, England, he now divides his time between his homes in Los Angeles, Europe, and his recording studio in Arizona. Baker started at Decca Records in England at the age of 14. He later moved to Trident Studios, where he worked with the likes of Gus Dudgeon and Tony Visconti.

Works

One of his best known productions is the hit song "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. He also produced artists such as Nazareth, Guns N' Roses, The Who, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, The Cars, Foreigner, Journey, Pilot, Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, T. Rex, Devo, The Stranglers, Dusty Springfield, Starcastle, T'Pau, Yes, Cheap Trick, Gasolin' and The Darkness. Most recently he has worked with The Smashing Pumpkins on their 2007 album Zeitgeist. In 2008 he produced in his Arizona recording studio "The Storm" which has become a gold record. In 2008 he produced a track on the Smashing Pumpkins EP American Gothic.

According to Jimmy Chamberlin, the only times Baker complained during the making of Zeitgeist were when he was denied permission to build a helipad on his California mansion and when he had to sell a castle he owned in England.

Discography

Roy Thomas Baker put production on:

• Arnold Corns: "Man in the Middle" (1971 – released 1985)
• Free: Fire and Water (1970)
• Nazareth: Nazareth (engineer) (1971)
• Nazareth: Exercises (1972)
• Gasolin': Gasolin' 3 (1973)
• Gasolin': Stakkels Jim (in English: "Poor Jim") (1974)
• Queen: Queen (1973) (Credited as Roy Baker)
• Queen: Queen II (1974)
• Hawkwind: Hall of the Mountain Grill (1974)
• Robert Calvert: Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters (1974)
• Man : Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics (1974)
• The Trammps: ‘’The Legendary Zing Album’’ (1975)
• Queen: Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
• Queen: A Night at the Opera (1975)
• Jet: Jet (1975)
• Be-Bop Deluxe: Futurama (1975)
• Gasolin': Gas 5 (1975)
• Lewis Furey: The Humours Of (1976)
• Pilot: Morin Heights (1976)
• Ian Hunter: Overnight Angels (1976)
• Gasolin': Efter endnu en dag (1976)
• Starcastle: Fountains of Light (1977)
• Starcastle: Citadel (1977)
• Dusty Springfield It Begins Again (1978)
• The Cars: The Cars (1978)
• Queen: Jazz (1978)
• Journey: Infinity (1978)
• Journey: Evolution (1979)
• Yes: Paris Sessions aka Golden Age Sessions (1979; unreleased)
• Ron Wood: Gimme Some Neck (1979)
• The Cars: Candy-O (1979)
• Foreigner: Head Games (1979)
• Alice Cooper: Flush the Fashion (1980)
• The Cars: Panorama (1980)
• The Cars: Shake It Up (1981)
• Heavy Metal: "Motion Picture Soundtrack" (1982)
• Cheap Trick: One on One (1982)
• Devo: Oh, No! It's Devo (1982)
• Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Motion Picture Soundtrack (1982)
• Mötley Crüe: Too Fast for Love (1982)
• Espionage: "Espionage" (1983)
• Joe Lynn Turner: Rescue You (1985)
• Jon Anderson: 3 Ships (1985)
• American Anthem: "Motion Picture Soundtrack" (1986)
• T'Pau: Bridge of Spies (titled T'Pau in the US) (1987)
• Slade: You Boyz Make Big Noize (1987)
• Ozzy Osbourne: No Rest for the Wicked (1988)
• The Stranglers: 10 (1989)
• Chris de Burgh: Spark to a Flame (1990)
• Shy: Misspent Youth (1990)
• Dangerous Toys: Hellacious Acres (1991)
• The Stranglers: All Twelve Inches (1992)
• Wayne's World: Motion Picture Soundtrack (1992)
• Local H: Pack Up the Cats (1998)
• Caroline's Spine: "Attention Please" (1999)
• The Darkness: One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005)
• The Smashing Pumpkins: Zeitgeist (2007)
• Transformers: "Motion Picture Soundtrack" (2007)
• The Storm: Where The Storm Meets The Ground (2008)
• The Smashing Pumpkins: American Gothic (2008)
• Jimmy Chamberlin's This: "Great Civilization" (2010)
• Maximilian Is King: Featuring Arthur Lynn and Nick Fowler "Songs To Kill Yourself With" (2012)
• Yes: Heaven & Earth (2014)