Overview
- Baker's death was announced on social media by fellow music journalist Stuart Coupe on Thursday, July 30, 2026, and his son Orson told 702 ABC Sydney that he had experienced a period of illness and decline.
- He served as a long‑time editor for Billboard and wrote more than a dozen books, while contributing sleeve notes to over 600 albums and pieces to hundreds of magazines during a career that spanned decades.
- Baker helped propel Australian youth radio by taking part in the 1970s research that led to 2JJ (later triple j), began his radio career there, later worked at Triple M, and in 1979 co‑founded the archival label Raven Records after managing the band Ol'55.
- He was a prolific collector whose archive of records, CDs and ephemera—estimated at around 80,000 items—was put up for auction in 2024, a sale that underscored his role as a custodian of music history.
- Colleagues and family remember his distinctive public persona and wide reach as a travel writer and broadcaster, and his passing leaves a gap in music journalism and archival stewardship that will prompt tributes and questions about the future of his collection and legacy.