Glenn A. Baker, Australian Music Journalist, Dies at 74

Australian music historian, broadcaster and longtime Billboard Australia editor Glenn A. Baker died on Friday at age 74, a fact confirmed by his friend and collaborator Stuart Coupe. The cause of death has not been disclosed, though Baker had been ill for some time and had previously suffered a stroke.

Baker’s five‑decade career shaped Australia’s rock and popular‑music landscape. He helped establish youth radio station 2JJ (later Triple J), hosted a trivia program, managed the band Ol’55, founded Raven Records in 1979 and served as editor of Billboard magazine for more than twenty years. He authored 17 books and was known for his encyclopaedic knowledge, claiming to own over 80,000 records and 30,000 CDs in 2018.

Family tributes noted that he was a father of six and grandfather of thirteen, and that his passion for music, travel and food was “larger than life.”