Bob Rock

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Bob Rock is a Canadian producer, sound engineer and musician, born in 1954 in Winnipeg. At twelve he moved to Victoria, on Canada's west coast. As a teenager he was a fan of British blues rock bands such as The Yardbirds, Cream and Led Zeppelin. At secondary school he met the singer Paul Hyde, with whom he later founded the band Payola$. Their album No Stranger to Danger (1982) won four Juno Awards, the Canadian music prizes.

Music and breakthrough

In 1976 Rock began as a trainee engineer at the Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver. There he worked with the producer Bruce Fairbairn on albums such as Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi (1986) and Permanent Vacation by Aerosmith (1987). He then moved over to producing. He made Sonic Temple by The Cult and Dr. Feelgood by Mötley Crüe, both from 1989. His best-known work became Metallica's self-titled album of 1991, the Black Album. For each of those bands it became their best-selling record.

Influence

Rock was known for a big, powerful and tightly produced rock sound, with heavy guitars and drums that nevertheless sounded radio-friendly. With Metallica he brought thrash metal to a much larger audience. Later he also produced pop artists such as Michael Bublé, for which he won a Grammy. Bob Rock shows how a producer can define the sound of a whole period in hard rock.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 2023Lustre Parfait

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 4: When Rock Was Still Pop^NL Reader

Mentioned in other articles

• NWOBHM and thrash metal GenreWith the producer Bob Rock, Metallica became radio-friendly in 1991.

See also

• NWOBHM and thrash metal