Roy Thomas Baker is a English record producer who helped create a number of extremely popular pop and rock records in the 1970s and 1980s. Perhaps best known for co-producing the enduring hit song "Bohemian Rhapsody" for Queen, he also worked with numerous, notable artists, including Guns N' Roses, The Who, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, The Cars, Foreigner, Journey, Ozzy Osbourne, T. Rex, Devo, The Stranglers, Dusty Springfield, Starcastle, Yes, Cheap Trick and Gasolin'. His most recent production work was for The Darkness' 2005 album "One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back". This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Bohemian Rhapsody is a song written by Freddie Mercury, originally recorded by the band Queen for their 1975 album A Night at the Opera. ... Queen is an English rock band formed by Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor in 1970 from the remains of Smile, with John Deacon completing the lineup the following year. ... Guns N Roses (GNR) is an American hard rock band that gained fame during the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... The Who are an English rock band who first came to prominence in the 1960s, and grew in stature to become one of the greatest rock n roll bands of all time [1][2] [3] [4]. Except for periods of retirement from 1983 to 1988 and from 1990 to 1995... The Rolling Stones are an English rock music group that rose to prominence in the early 1960s with the so-called British Invasion. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Cars was a popular American New Wave band that emerged out of the early punk scene in the late 1970s. ... Foreigner is a rock band formed in New York City in 1976 by veteran musicians Mick Jones and Ian McDonald, along with then unknown vocalist Lou Gramm (Louis Grammatico). ... Journey is an Arena rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco, California. ... Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne Ozzy Osbourne (born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948 in Aston, Birmingham, England) is the lead singer of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and is a popular solo artist and reality television star. ... T. Rex (originally known as Tyrannosaurus Rex, also occasionally spelt T Rex or T-Rex), was a British rock band fronted by Marc Bolan. ... Devo (pronounced DEE-vo or dee-VO, sometimes spelled Dev-O and often DEVO) is an American Rock group formed in Akron, Ohio in 1972. ... The Stranglers - (L to R) - Dave Greenfield, Jet Black, Jean-Jacques Burnel and Hugh Cornwell. ... Dusty Springfield Dusty Springfield, OBE (April 16, 1939 – March 2, 1999) was a popular English singer whose career spanned more than forty years. ... Starcastle was a Progressive Rock Band that began in Champaign Illinois in 1969. ... Yes are an English progressive rock band that formed in London in 1968. ... Cheap Trick is a U.S. rock and roll band from Rockford, Illinois that gained popularity in the late 1970s. ... Gasolin was a Danish rock band from Christianshavn in Copenhagen formed by Kim Larsen and Franz Beckerlee and Wili Jönsson in 1969. ... The Darkness are an English rock band touting themselves as classic hard rock. ...

Although he now spends much of his time at his studio in Arizona, Baker got his start at Decca Records in England at the age of 14. Later he moved to Trident Studios, where he worked with people such as Gus Dudgeon and Tony Visconti. Gus Dudgeon (1942 - 2002) was a British record producer, and the inventor of audio sampling as a musical device. ... Tony Visconti in the 1970s Tony Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is a record producer, and often an instrumentalist or singer, who has had a long and illustrious career working with some of the best known popular music artists from the late 1960s onwards, notably T. Rex, David Bowie...

One of his trademarks of production is that he refers to different takes as "Takey-poohs", which greatly irritated the members of the band Yes when he worked with them on their 1978 album Tormato.^{[citation needed]}The Smashing Pumpkins are currently in the recording studio with Baker at work on their first new album since 2000.[1] 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Tormato is the ninth studio album by British progressive rock group Yes. ... The Smashing Pumpkins is a popular American alternative rock band which formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. ...

Selected discography

Albums co-produced by Roy Thomas Baker:

• Gasolin': Gasolin' 3 (1973)
• Queen: Queen (1973)
• Queen: Queen II (1974)
• Queen: Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
• Queen: A Night at the Opera (1975)
• Queen: Jazz (1978)
• The Darkness: One Way Ticket to Hell...And Back (2005)
• The Smashing Pumpkins: as yet untitled new album (possible 2006 - 2007 release)

Gasolin 3 (released in November 1973) was the first Gasolin album to be produced by Roy Thomas Baker and his importance cannot be overestimated. ... Queen is the first album by English band Queen, released in 1973. ... Queen II is a rock album by British band Queen originally released in 1974. ... Sheer Heart Attack is a Queen album from 1974. ... A Night at the Opera is a rock album by English band Queen originally released in 1975. ... Jazz is a 1978 album by British rock band Queen. ... One Way Ticket to Hell. ...

External links

• Sound on Sound, October 1995 - interview with Baker
• Mix interview with Roy Thomas Baker by Rick Clark, April 1, 1999.
• Mix interview with Roy Thomas Baker by Paul Tingen, March 1, 2006.