Jack Douglas, the acclaimed music producer known for his work with John Lennon, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick and others, has died at the age of 80. His family announced the news on social media on Monday, though no cause of death was given.
Born in the Bronx, New York, Douglas began his career as a folk musician in the early 1960s. After studying at the Institute of Audio Research, he started working at the Record Plant in Manhattan as a janitor before moving behind the mixing console. He engineered recordings for artists including Miles Davis, the Who, and Alice Cooper, and worked on John Lennon's 'Imagine' album, forming a friendship that led to producing 'Double Fantasy' in 1980.
Encouraged by producer Bob Ezrin, Douglas co-produced Aerosmith's 'Get Your Wings' and Alice Cooper's 'Muscle of Love'. His star rose rapidly in the 1970s with a string of hit albums, including Aerosmith's 'Rocks' and 'Toys in the Attic', Cheap Trick's debut album, and Patti Smith's 'Radio Ethiopia'. He also received a songwriting credit on Aerosmith's 1977 track 'Kings and Queens'.
Douglas's career peaked with 'Double Fantasy', for which he assembled a band featuring former David Bowie musicians Andy Newmark and Earl Slick, Peter Gabriel bassist Tony Levin, and guitarist Hugh McCracken. Following Lennon's murder in 1980, he reassembled the band for Yoko Ono's 'Season of Glass'. He continued producing for decades, working with acts such as Supertramp, Slash, Local H, and a reformed New York Dolls.
