Jack Douglas, producer for Aerosmith and John Lennon, dies at 80

Jack Douglas, the legendary music producer and engineer who worked with everyone from Aerosmith to John Lennon, has died at the age of 80.

His family confirmed the news in a Facebook post on Tuesday, saying: “He produced great music, and lived a colourful life.

We know that he touched many of your lives… He will be missed.” 

And honestly, that feels like an understatement.

Douglas was one of those behind-the-scenes figures whose fingerprints are all over rock history. 

He worked as an engineer on John Lennon’s iconic 1971 album Imagine, before later co-producing Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy, the album that became Lennon’s final studio release before he died in 1980.

He also worked with Patti Smith, Blue Öyster Cult, Cheap Trick, and the gloriously chaotic New York Dolls, before linking up with Aerosmith in the early ‘70s. 

From there, he helped shape the band’s rise with albums like Get Your Wings, Toys in the Attic, Rocks, and Draw the Line. 

Basically, if your dad reckons “music was better back then”, there’s a decent chance Jack Douglas had something to do with it.

No big flashy spotlight. Just decades of making records that still crank through speakers today.

Rest easy, Jack.