Jack Douglas, Legendary Producer for Aerosmith, John Lennon, and Cheap Trick, Dead at 80

"He most enjoyed being with his family - his wife, his four children and five grandchildren - and he died peacefully, with us surrounding him. He lived an incredible life and was an amazing storyteller. He was very, very funny and goofy and loved to tell jokes. He loved what he did, and he worked til the very end. We will miss him a lot."

"Douglas, who was born in the Bronx, New York, started out as a folk musician, and penned songs for Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign. He initially got a job at the New York City studio the Record Plant as a janitor before working as an engineer on albums by Miles Davis and the James Gang."

"Douglas went on to engineer Alice Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies and the New York Dolls self-titled debut before making the leap to producer on Aerosmith's 1974 album Get Your Wings. He then produced Aerosmith's next three multiplatinum albums, Toys in the Attic (1975), Rocks (1976), and Draw the Line (1977), and even co-wrote the song "Kings and Queens.""

"With Cheap Trick, he produced their 1977 self-titled debut, and worked as a mixing supervisor on the band's iconic concert album At Budokan. In 2021, Consequence had the pleasure of having Douglas participate in a roundtable discussion about At Budokan alongside Corey Taylor, Linda Perry, Butch Walker, and Cheap Trick's own Rick Nielsen (watch below)."

Jack Douglas, a producer and engineer known for work with Aerosmith, John Lennon, and Cheap Trick, died at age 80 after a battle with lymphoma. He was born in the Bronx, New York, began as a folk musician, and wrote songs for Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign. He started at New York City’s Record Plant as a janitor, then engineered albums for Miles Davis and the James Gang. He worked on The Who’s Lifehouse project, with material later appearing on Who’s Next, and engineered John Lennon’s Imagine in 1971. He engineered Alice Cooper’s Billion Dollar Babies and the New York Dolls’ debut, then produced Aerosmith’s Get Your Wings and subsequent multiplatinum albums. He produced Cheap Trick’s 1977 debut, served as mixing supervisor for At Budokan, and produced Double Fantasy, which won Album of the Year at the Grammys.

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