Legendary Producer Jack Douglas, Known for Work with Aerosmith and John Lennon, Dies at 80

5:07 PM EDT on May 12, 2026

Jack Douglas, a producer and engineer who helped craft more than his share of classic albums, passed away on Monday, as Variety reports . No cause of death has been reported. Douglas was 80.

Jack Douglas grew up in New York, and he was part of the Institute Of Audio Research's first graduating job. Douglas first found record-business work as a janitor at New York's Record Plant studios. He helped engineer some of Billy Joel's early demos and some of the Who's songs that eventually appeared on the 1971 album Who's Next . That same year, Douglas served as an engineer on John Lennon's Imagine .

At the Record Plant, Douglas engineered classic records from the New York Dolls and Blue Öyster Cult. He was credited as producer on Alice Cooper's 1973 album Muscle Of Love , then on Aerosmith's 1974 debut Get Your Wings . Douglas went on to produce Aerosmith's hugely successful records Toys In The Attic , Rocks , and Draw The Line . Later on, he reunited with Aerosmith for 2004's Honkin' On Bobo . In addition, Douglas produced or co-produced albums like the Patti Smith Group's Radio Ethiopia , Cheap Trick's self-titled album, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy . A few months ago, he was on Billy Corgan's podcast .

Check out some of Douglas' work below.

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_Originally reported by [Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/2498751/producer-jack-douglas-aerosmith-john-lennon-dead-at-80/news/)._