Glenn A. Baker, for generations a familiar name in Australian media for his work as a music historian, author, presenter and pundit, and a long-time Billboard correspondent, died Friday morning, July 31. He was 74.
“Glenn’s contribution to the Australian rock ’n’ roll music landscape was immense, but his family remembers him as a loving father of six and grandfather of thirteen,” reads a statement posted on his official social channels.
“Glenn’s passion for music, travel, food and his family (still not entirely sure of the order) was, like his personality, larger than life.”
Born in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1952, the eldest of four children, Baker left school aged 15 to support his family and was “galvanized” by seeing the Beatles on TV.
In the mid-‘70s, Baker launched his radio career as part of a research team whose work led to the creation of 2JJ, which would became triple j, the national youth network within the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Baker always cut a flamboyant figure on TV, which was often, in the 1970s through to recent times. A true music allrounder, Baker managed the band Ol’55 and, in 1979, co-founded the Australian record label Raven Records. He topped the BBC’s “Rock Brain of the Universe” on three occasions during the 1980s, and twice won the Australian Travel Writer of the Year Award twice (1995 and 2000).
A prolific writer, Baker penned 17 books, sleeve notes for more than 600 albums, and served as Billboard’s Australia correspondent for over 20 years.
His knowledge of music was as vast as his collection of records. In 2024, Baker, through Lloyds Auctions, put his immense haul under the hammer. Over 80,000 items were put up for sale, including over 50,000 LPs “primarily representing rock’n’roll and popular music of the second half of the 20th century,” the listing stated.
Winarch Group’s founder and director Paul Lambess bought the goods.
Speaking with 702 ABC Sydney, Baker’s son Orson revealed that his father had experienced a “period of illness,” was “declining for a while” and had experienced a stroke.
His dad was “somebody who absolutely grabbed life, throttled it, and did everything that he wanted to do”.
As news of his passing spread, the music community reached out.
“I am very sorry to hear of the passing of Glenn A Baker today,” writes Iva Davies, spearhead of ICEHOUSE. “Glenn was someone who lived life on his own terms – his passion for music and for the industry made him a force for discovery of new artists and to advocate with business and government to improve conditions for creators.”
Cold Chisel frontman Jimmy Barnes remembered Baker as “the first person I’d turn to whenever I needed to know anything about our music history. He was always ready to help, drawing on his vast knowledge of popular music.” It was Baker who sent Barnes the Easybeats song “Good Times” when the rocker was looking for a song to record with INXS. “I’ll miss his insights, his incredible knowledge, and our conversations about music whenever we met.”
ARIA Hall of Fame inductee Marcia Hines reflects on Baker as “a man to whom music was more than music. It was part of his life blood. His big, beautiful brain held the keys to a treasure trove of deep cuts that he rejoiced in and wrote about with the same prolific passion that is usually reserved for what readers/listeners would usually view as ‘the hits.’”
Baker had celebrated his birthday just three days earlier. “While the family wishes for privacy,” reads the family statement, “if you do wish to honor Glenn or continue his legacy in some way, have a passionate conversation today with somebody about your favorite Australian muso or band. Rock on Glenn! You will be missed.”
