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| Roy Thomas Baker | |
|---|---|
 Baker at the Whitfield Street Studios in 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | RTB |
| Born | 10 November 1946 Hampstead, North West London |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 1970–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | RoyThomasBaker.com |
Roy Thomas Baker (born 10 November 1946) [1] [2] is an English record producer, songwriter and arranger, who has produced rock and pop and songs since the 1970s. [3]
Baker began his career at Decca Records at the age of 14 and later worked as an assistant engineer at Morgan Studios. [4] Encouraged by music producer Gus Dudgeon, he soon moved to Trident Studios, where he worked with Dudgeon, Tony Visconti, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and Frank Zappa, as well as recording artists such as The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, The Who, Gasolin', Nazareth, Santana, The Mothers of Invention, Jet, Be Bop Deluxe, Free and T. Rex. [1]
After co-founding Neptune (Trident's record company), Baker met the rock band Queen. He began a working relationship that lasted for five albums (Queen, Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, A Night at the Opera and Jazz) and a number of awards – including Grammy Awards and the Guinness World Records for the best hit song, "Bohemian Rhapsody".
Following his successes with Queen and other artists, Baker signed a multi-album production deal with CBS Music (Columbia Records, Sony Music, Epic Records, etc.). He then proceeded to move to the US and set up the RTB Audio Visual Productions' Offices in New York and Los Angeles. At this time under his new CBS deal RTB produced Journey, Starcastle, Reggie Knighton (The Grass Roots), Ian Hunter and Ronnie Wood (The Rolling Stones).
Baker, also at this time, committed to produce four albums for The Cars after being prompted by Elektra Records to see them perform in a Boston school gymnasium. The albums were certified platinum and The Cars were Grammy-nominated.
He was offered the post as the Senior Vice-President of "Artist and Repertoire" (A&R) for Elektra Records as executive and/or producer with recording artists Lindsey Buckingham, Mötley Crüe, Joe Lynn Turner, Josie Cotton and Dokken as well as continuing with Queen and The Cars. During his tenure, Elektra signed artists Metallica, Simply Red, Yello, Peter Schilling, The World and 10,000 Maniacs.
Baker has also worked with artists Guns N' Roses, Alice Cooper, Foreigner, Pilot, Ozzy Osbourne, Devo, The Stranglers, Dusty Springfield, T'Pau, Local H, Cheap Trick and Lewis Furey. In 2005, he produced One Way Ticket to Hell and Back by The Darkness, The Smashing Pumpkins' 2007 album, Zeitgeist , The Storm's 2008 album When the Storm Meets the Ground, The Smashing Pumpkins' American Gothic and One Karma's 2011 album Life Got in the Way. He also produced Yes's 2014 album Heaven & Earth , 35 years after his previous experience with the band, working on sessions in Paris that did not lead to an album. [5]
Productions by Roy Thomas Baker:
Candy-O is the second studio album by American new wave band the Cars, released on June 2, 1979, by Elektra Records.
Queen II is the second studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 8 March 1974 by EMI Records in the UK and Elektra Records in the US. It was recorded at Trident Studios and Langham 1 Studios, London, in August 1973 with co-producers Roy Thomas Baker and Robin Geoffrey Cable, and engineered by Mike Stone. It is significant for being the first album to contain elements of the band's signature sound of multi-layered overdubs, vocal harmonies, and varied musical styles.
Queen is the debut studio album by the British rock band Queen. Released on 13 July 1973 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US, it was recorded at Trident Studios and De Lane Lea Music Centre, London, with production by Roy Thomas Baker, John Anthony and the band members themselves.
About a Burning Fire is the fourth album by post-hardcore band Blindside. It was released on February 24, 2004 through Elektra and 3 Points Records. The album charted at 39 on the Billboard top 200 which was even higher than their previous album, Silence which charted at 89 for 9 weeks straight. The album is also notable for featuring The Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan on the track "Hooray, It's L.A." as well as being featured on the soundtrack for the video game Need For Speed Underground.
"Perfect" is a song by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. It was released as the second single from their fourth album, Adore (1998), on September 7, 1998. It was the final commercial single from the album, although "Crestfallen" and "To Sheila" were subsequently released as promotional singles.
10 is the tenth studio album by English rock band the Stranglers, released in March 1990 by Epic Records. It was the last to feature guitarist/lead singer Hugh Cornwell. 10 peaked at No. 15 and spent four weeks in the UK Albums Chart.
Gasolin' were a Danish rock band from Christianshavn, Copenhagen, formed by Kim Larsen, Franz Beckerlee, and Wili Jønsson in 1969. Their first drummer was the late Bjørn Uglebjerg. He was replaced by Søren Berlev in 1971. At their formation, the guitar playing of Franz Beckerlee was inspired by Jimi Hendrix and the vocals and lyrics of Larsen were inspired by Bob Dylan, while the rhythm playing of Jønsson and Berlev owed much to The Beatles. However, they would soon develop their own musical style. The pop sensibility of Kim Larsen, the artistic attitude of Franz Beckerlee and the musical competence of Wili Jønsson would prove to be a recipe for success. Gasolin's lyrics were generally written by the entire group, often with the assistance of their friend Mogens Mogensen.
Bridge of Spies is the debut studio album by English pop group T'Pau, released on 14 September 1987 by Siren Records. In the United States and Canada, Virgin Records released the album under the title T'Pau.
Lost Highway is the soundtrack album for the 1997 David Lynch film of the same name. It was produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and includes original music from the film recorded by Reznor, Angelo Badalamenti and Barry Adamson, as well as songs by other artists used in the film. The album reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and reached Gold status in the United States and Platinum in Canada. The album was re-released on vinyl in November 2016 by Dutch label Music On Vinyl.
Gasolin' (also called Gas 1) is the debut studio album by Danish rock band Gasolin'. It was released in November 1971 by CBS Records. Instead of boogie rock and catchy tunes, they relied on creating songs with a moody feel such as "Langebro", "Fra dag til dag" and "Tremastet beton". The latter is recited by the poet Mogens Mogensen. Lead singer Kim Larsen later jokingly referred to the song as the first Danish rap. The lyrics and the music have a dark and mysterious ambience. From this album "Langebro" was released on the single with "Lilli-Lilli" on the b-side.
Gas 5 was Gasolin's fifth album in five years and was released in October 1975. From the humble beginnings of their debut album they had developed into a confident arena rock band with this release. In hindsight, Gas 5 may be considered to be their definitive album.
A Foreign Affair 2 is double compilation album released by Danish rock band Gasolin' in 2002.
Stakkels Jim is a studio album by Gasolin' and was released in November 1974. It was the second album to be produced by Roy Thomas Baker.
Gasolin' 3 was the third album from Danish rock band Gasolin', released in November 1973. It was the band's first album to be produced by Roy Thomas Baker. Gasolin' 3 was recorded in Rosenberg Studio in Copenhagen with Freddy Hansson as sound engineer.
Zeitgeist is the seventh studio album by American rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 10, 2007 on Martha's Music and Reprise Records. Recorded solely by returning band members Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin, the album was the band's first since reuniting in 2006, and was produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Terry Date, alongside Corgan and Chamberlin themselves.
Sierra Marie Swan is an American singer-songwriter. She is known for her work with Dollshead, Black Eyed Peas and as a solo artist.
A Foreign Affair is a double CD compilation album released by Danish rock band Gasolin' in 1997.
Fountains of Light is the second studio album by American progressive rock band Starcastle. It was their first of two albums to be produced by Roy Thomas Baker.
What a Lemon is an album by Danish rock band Gasolin', released in August 1976 on Epic Records in the United States, some parts of Europe, Japan and Australia. It is the third of four albums with English lyrics that Gasolin' released between 1974 and 1978 in an attempt to break the international music market. The album received good reviews from leading American rock critics, but lack of airplay and the fact that the record company invested only small efforts in promotion and distribution meant that it never earned the band the public acclaim it was striving for.
Gasolin' is the first album with English lyrics by rock band Gasolin' in an attempt to win the band recognition outside their native Denmark. It is almost identical to their third Danish album, Gasolin' 3 and was released in some Western European countries in the beginning of 1974 on CBS. It failed to make impact on the charts anywhere, but didn't stop Gasolin' from issuing three more albums in English in the period from 1974 to 1978.
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