Bob Rock facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bob Rock
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Bob Rock at the 2009 Juno Awards
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert Jens Rock |
| Born | April 19, 1954 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Origin | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
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| Years active | 1976–present |
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Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a famous Canadian record producer, recording engineer, and musician. He is known for helping many popular rock and metal bands create their best-selling albums. He has also played in his own bands.
Bob Rock started his career in 1976 as a sound engineer. He helped mix and record many important rock albums. These included Get Lucky by Loverboy (1981), Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi (1986), and Permanent Vacation by Aerosmith (1987).
He also formed a band called Payola$ in 1978 with singer-songwriter Paul Hyde. Their song "Eyes of a Stranger" was a big hit in 1982. This song helped them win four Juno Awards. Later, Bob Rock and Paul Hyde also recorded music as Rock and Hyde. In 1991, Bob Rock released an album with his band Rockhead.
Some of the most famous albums Bob Rock produced are Dr. Feelgood by Mötley Crüe (1989), Sonic Temple by the Cult (1989), and Metallica's 1991 self-titled album, often called the Black Album. These albums became the best-selling records for each of these bands. Metallica and The Cult worked with Bob Rock on several more albums after these big successes.
Bob Rock has been nominated for many Juno Awards. He has won nine Juno Awards for his work. In 2007, he was added to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. He also won a Grammy Award in 2014 for his work on Michael Bublé's album To Be Loved.
Contents
Early Life and Start in Music
Bob Rock was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1954. He grew up loving ice hockey. In the 1960s, he found his passion for music. Later, his family moved to British Columbia.
In 1976, Bob Rock got a job at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver. He started as an apprentice, learning how to record music. He worked with many punk bands at first. Over the next few years, he worked with producer Bruce Fairbairn. Together, they engineered and mixed many classic rock albums. These included Get Lucky by Loverboy and Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi.
After working on Permanent Vacation for Aerosmith, Bob Rock decided he wanted to focus more on producing music. He wanted to guide the whole sound of an album. He felt it was time to take the next step in his career.
Producing Hit Albums
After becoming a producer, Bob Rock worked with many famous bands.
The Cult asked him to produce their 1989 album Sonic Temple. They liked his work with Bon Jovi. This album became very popular in the US and UK. It started a long partnership, as Bob Rock produced four more albums for The Cult. The band's singer, Ian Astbury, said Bob Rock understood their strong musical energy. He helped them put that energy in the right direction.
Mötley Crüe also worked with Bob Rock for their album Dr. Feelgood (1989). This album became their best-selling record. It was the only one to reach the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was also nominated for two Grammys.
In 1995, Bob Rock moved to Maui, Hawaii. He built his own recording studio there called Plantation Studios. This allowed him to work on projects from his home. He still traveled for bigger projects, like Metallica's St. Anger.
While he is famous for rock and metal, Bob Rock has also produced pop artists. He worked with Cher, Nelly Furtado, Jann Arden, Sarah McLachlan, and Michael Bublé. His work with Michael Bublé on the album To Be Loved (2013) even won him a Grammy Award.
Working with Metallica
Metallica liked Bob Rock's work on Dr. Feelgood. They asked him to produce their fifth album, Metallica. This album is often called The Black Album.
The Black Album was a bit different from Metallica's earlier fast, heavy sound. It included slower, more thoughtful songs like "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters". These songs even featured acoustic guitar. The band's singer, James Hetfield, also sang in new ways on this album. Bob Rock helped him develop his singing voice.
Before this album, Metallica members usually recorded their parts separately. Bob Rock convinced them to record the song "Enter Sandman" with all four members playing together in the same room. This helped capture their live energy. Bob Rock's own son even provided the voice of the child saying a bedtime prayer in the song!
Metallica went straight to number one on the Billboard 200 chart. It won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. It is one of the most successful albums in American history.
Bob Rock continued to produce Metallica's albums Load (1996), ReLoad (1997), and St. Anger (2003). For St. Anger, Bob Rock even played all the bass guitar parts himself. This was because their bassist, Jason Newsted, had left the band. Bob Rock also played bass for a few live shows until Robert Trujillo joined Metallica. Bob Rock was also shown in the 2004 documentary film Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. This film showed the band's challenges while making St. Anger.
In 2006, Metallica decided to work with a different producer. Some fans felt that Bob Rock had too much influence on the band's sound. Even so, Bob Rock joined Metallica on stage in 2011 for their 30th Anniversary Concert. He played bass with them on two songs.
His Own Bands: Payolas and Rock and Hyde
After starting at Little Mountain Sound Studios, Bob Rock formed the Payola$ in 1978 with Paul Hyde. Paul Hyde was the singer, and Bob Rock played guitar. They were the main members of the band.
Their first single, "China Boys," came out in 1979. They soon signed with A&M Records. In 1982, the famous producer Mick Ronson produced their album No Stranger to Danger. This album included their hit song "Eyes of a Stranger." This song won the Juno Award for best single. Bob Rock also won Recording Engineer of the Year for his work on the album. The band was named Most Promising Group.
In 1987, the band changed their name to Rock and Hyde. They had two more hit songs in Canada: "Dirty Water" and "I Will." The Payolas even got back together briefly in 2007.
Other Music Projects
In 1991, Bob Rock started another band called Rockhead with Chris Taylor, who used to be the drummer for Payolas. They released one album in 1992 before the band split up.
Bob Rock also produced the final songs for CBC Sports's Hockey Night in Canada Anthem Challenge in 2008.
In 2023, an album called Lustre Parfait was released. This album featured songs Bob Rock created with The Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie. They worked on these songs between 2009 and 2016. Gord Downie sang and wrote the lyrics. Bob Rock wrote the music, played guitar, and produced the songs. He was deeply affected by Gord Downie's death in 2017 and took a break from the project for a few years.
Helping Others: Charity Work
Bob Rock has also used his talents to help others. In 1985, he was one of the engineers for the song "Tears Are Not Enough." This song was recorded by a Canadian supergroup called Northern Lights. It raised money to help people affected by famine in Ethiopia. Bob Rock and Paul Hyde even helped come up with the song's title.
In 2005, Bob Rock was an executive producer for the War Child benefit album Help!: A Day in the Life. This album included a song by Payolas. The band also performed at a charity event in Toronto the next year to help fight child poverty.
Awards and Recognition
Bob Rock has been recognized many times for his amazing work in music. He has been nominated for 27 Juno Awards throughout his career. These nominations include "Recording Engineer of the Year" and "Producer of the Year." He has won nine Juno Awards for his work with his own bands and for producing other artists.
In 2007, he was honored by being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. This is a very special award for people who have made a huge impact on Canadian music.
In 2014, Bob Rock won a Grammy Award. He won for "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album" for his work on Michael Bublé's album To Be Loved.
Personal Life
For much of his career, Bob Rock lived in White Rock, British Columbia. In 1995, he moved with his family to Maui, Hawaii. There, he built his own recording studio. Bob Rock has six children.
Images for kids
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Bob Rock presenting at the 2009 Juno Awards.
