Roy Thomas Baker, record producer behind Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' dies at 78

Roy Thomas Baker, the hitmaking grounds shaper down immoderate of the biggest and astir proudly polished songs and albums of the stone epoch — including Queen’s chart-topping, multipart “Bohemian Rhapsody” — died April 12 astatine his location successful Lake Havasu City, Ariz. He was 78.

His decease was announced by a spokesperson, Bob Merlis, who said the origin had not yet been established.

Known for his technological savvy and his subject successful the signaling studio, Baker oversaw the instauration of Queen’s archetypal 4 albums, which spun disconnected a varied assortment of singles successful the aboriginal 1970s including the jaunty “Killer Queen,” the tender “You’re My Best Friend” and the astir comically elaborate “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which moves implicit six minutes from a show-tune-style intro done a densely arranged operatic series earlier climaxing successful a hard-rock conception that inspired a headbanging acceptable piece successful 1992’s “Wayne’s World” movie.

“‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was wholly insane, but we enjoyed each infinitesimal of it,” Baker told Mix mag successful 1999. “It was fundamentally a joke, but a palmy joke.” The opus went to No. 1 connected the U.K. singles illustration successful 1975 and aboriginal peaked astatine No. 2 connected the Billboard Hot 100 aft “Wayne’s World” was released. In 2018, “Bohemian Rhapsody” provided the rubric of the blockbuster biopic astir Queen’s flamboyant frontman, Freddie Mercury; connected Spotify, the opus has been streamed much than 2.7 cardinal times.

Baker had a likewise adjacent creator narration with the Cars, whose archetypal 4 albums helium produced; among the gleaming caller question hits they created were “Just What I Needed,” “My Best Friend’s Girl,” “Let’s Go” and “Shake It Up.” The shaper besides worked with Journey, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, Devo and Ozzy Osbourne, among galore others. He reunited with Queen successful 1978 to marque “Jazz.”

Born successful the Hampstead country of London connected Nov. 10, 1946, Baker got his commencement successful euphony arsenic a 2nd technologist astatine London’s vaunted Decca Studios and Trident Studios, wherever helium assisted the producers Gus Dudgeon and Tony Visconti and worked connected records by the likes of David Bowie, the Who and the Rolling Stones.

He moved to Los Angeles successful the precocious ’70s and aboriginal became an A&R rep for Elektra Records, helping to bring acts including Metallica and 10,000 Maniacs to the label. In the precocious ’90s and aboriginal 2000s, helium produced albums by Local H, the Smashing Pumpkins and the Darkness. Baker is survived by his wife, Tere Livrano Baker, and his brother, Alan Baker.

Asked by Mix what helium thought of artists forgoing producers to marque their ain records, Baker compared the determination to “someone wanting to beryllium their ain lawyer successful court” and advised against it.

“I think, adjacent if you’re a large shaper who happens to beryllium an artist, and you’re large astatine moving with different artists, you should ne'er nutrient yourself,” helium said. “You inactive request idiosyncratic other astir to marque definite you get the champion retired of yourself, due to the fact that you can’t beryllium successful 2 places astatine once.”