Roy Thomas Baker

Roy Thomas Baker produced Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and, if nothing else, deserves his place in history merely based on that brilliant, pristine, and utterly perfect track. Yet Baker, who made his name with Queen and the Cars, is nowhere near a one-trick pony and his flawless production has also helped the likes of Journey, Cheap Trick, Ozzy Osbourne, and countless others. Baker got his start working mainly in the hard rock idiom with bands such as Nazareth and Hawkwind. Yet the pomp rock leanings that he would later perfect with Queen lent those groups a levity that took them out of the dismal hard rock gutter and into the arena. Simply put, Baker made big records. It wasn't until he was paired with the Cars in 1978 that he scaled down his trademark production sound and the result, with its quirky use of electronics and eighth note rhythms, eventually became known as new wave. The Cars had a pop sheen and a simplicity to their records that Baker's past groups didn't. Following the success of the Cars, Baker now split his time between hard rock bands like Journey (he produced the group's Infinity and Evolution albums) and new wave groups like Devo. In later years he produced Ozzy Osbourne's "No Rest for the Wicked," but was relatively inactive during the '90s. ~ Steve Kurutz