In 1927, an Ohio-born insurance salesman named Harry Baker, having moved to Los Angeles seeking a change, came up with a revolutionary cake recipe. Folding whipped egg whites into a batter enriched with yolks and vegetable oil, he discovered, yielded …

Among the most successful music producers in the 1970s and ’80s, he helped churn out hits for acts like Queen, the Cars, Journey and Foreigner.