Roy Thomas Bakerthe prolific producer who collaborated with figures such as Queen, The Cars, David Bowie, Devo, Journey and The Smashing Pumpkinshe died. He was 78 years old.
Baker is known for his work in one of the greatest and most enduring hymns of rock: “Bohemian Rhapsody” Queen Recording this extensive opeistic song was a challenge, especially given the technology of the time. Baker and the band had to transfer the numerous overlapping clues of the melody to eight generations of tapes of 24 tracks, which required about 200 tracks for overwhelming.
“We had to record it in three separate units,” Baker recalled later. “We did the whole beginning, then the entire intermediate and then the whole end. It was a total madness. The central part began with only a couple of seconds, but Freddie continued to add more ‘Galileans’ and continued expanding the opera section, and the thing became increasingly large.”
The song, launched in 1978, originally reached the number 4 in the Billboard 200. He found a new life when he became part of the film’s soundtrack Wayne’s World In 1992.
“When the song was launched, I thought it would be a success,” Baker told The New York Times in 2005. “We didn’t know it would be so great. I didn’t realize that I would continue to talk about her 30 years later.”
He also worked with The Rolling Stones, The Who, Nazareth, Santana, T. Rex, Yes, Guns namong many others.
Brian May’s farewell to Roy Thomas Baker
Upon learning about Baker’s death, Queen’s guitarist Brian May, wrote: “It is very sad to know about Roy Thomas Baker’s death. Roy played a fundamental role in the production of much of Queen’s music in its beginnings … his contribution to production, along with Mike Stone’s engineering in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, will never be forgotten. I regret to have lost contact with Roy lately. I guess life is going so fast today that we imagine that we will have plenty of time to revive a friendship, and suddenly, one day, it is too late. Thank you, Roy, for all the great work you did for us and for all how we had a good time. Rest in peace. “
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
