Industry

Legendary Rock Producer Jack Douglas Passes Away at 80

Renowned rock producer Jack Douglas, known for his work with John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, and Patti Smith, died on Monday at 80 years old.

Variety Music·May 12, 2026·via Variety Music

Legendary Rock Producer Jack Douglas Passes Away at 80

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May 12, 2026 1:48pm PT

Jack Douglas, Producer for John Lennon, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick and More, Dies at 80

By Jem Aswad

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Jem Aswad

Executive Editor, Music

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Jack Douglas , a top-flight rock producer whose work in the 1970s and early 1980s included John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Double Fantasy,” Aerosmith ’s “Rocks” and “Toys in the Attic,” Cheap Trick’s debut album, Patti Smith’s “Radio Ethiopia” and more, died on Monday, according to a social media post from his family. No cause of death was cited; he was 80.

A native of the Bronx borough of New York City, Douglas started out as a folk musician in the early 1960s and worked on Robert F. Kennedy’s 1964 senatorial campaign as a songwriter. He soon changed gears to focus on studio work, attended the Institute of Audio Research and took a job at the just-opened Record Plant in midtown Manhattan — starting out, like so many budding engineers, as a janitor. But he soon found his way behind the consoles and worked as an engineer on recordings by Miles Davis, the Who, the New York Dolls, Alice Cooper, Joe Walsh’s James Gang, Mountain, and others. He also worked on John Lennon ’s “Imagine” album, striking a friendship with the former Beatle that would culminate with their work on “Double Fantasy” in 1980.