A well-accomplished rock producer, Jack Douglas, died at 80 years old on Monday, May 11. Before he became a producer, Douglas was a folk musician who worked for Robert F. Kennedy’s 1964 senatorial campaign. Soon after, Douglas moved to England, where he joined some successful groups. He spent time in the Liverpool scene, playing in bands at the legendary Cavern Club. He then moved back to the US, attending the Institute of Audio Research in New York. It was at this time that Douglas began shifting into music production and engineering. His first job was at the then-new Record Plant, where he worked as a studio janitor. Eventually, Douglas earned his spot at the recording desk where he worked on projects by artists such as Miles Davis, James Gang, and Montrose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following a chance encounter, Douglas became an engineer on the Who’s 1971 album Who’s Next<\/em>. This led to Douglas becoming the engineer on John Lennon’s Imagine<\/a><\/em> in 1971, and began a long friendship with the former Beatle. Douglas became a Record Plant staff engineer and worked with Patti Smith, Blue \u00d6yster Cult, and the New York Dolls. During the sessions with the New York Dolls, producer Bob Ezrin encouraged Jack Douglas to become a producer himself. Ezrin was known for his work with Alice Cooper<\/a> and took Douglas under his wing. He worked closely with Ezrin on Alice Cooper’s Billion Dollar Babies<\/em> in 1973, learning hands-on with Ezrin how to produce a rock album. <\/p>\n\n\n\nDouglas Produced Albums For Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, and John Lennon<\/h3>\n\n\n\n