Looking for the Perfect Beat

Beginning his career as a club DJ and disco producer in the early-70s in his native Boston, Arthur Baker moved to New York City in 1981 and in the summer of 1982 produced one of the genre-defining early hip-hop tracks ‘Planet Rock’ by Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force. This began an illustrious career that has seen him work with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Al Green, Pet Shop Boys, Quincy Jones, New Order, New Edition, Hall & Oates, Neneh Cherry and Damon Albarn. This work tells Arthur’s unique and inspiring story in his own words and features unheard stories about many of the world’s best and most successful musical figures, which together form a portrait of a man who has been quietly influencing the sound of popular music for over fifty years.